The government of the United Kingdom has published Statutory Instrument documents, which says that as of the end of April, UK law enforcement agencies would have the authority to freeze cryptocurrency assets that have been used in criminal activity without needing a conviction.
The document, which was published on February 29, details the changes made to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. These changes give the National Crime Agency more authority to confiscate and seize cryptocurrency assets that it believes are connected to questionable illicit activity without requiring the agency to go through a drawn-out legal process.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Source: UK Parliament
Authorities will also have direct access to cryptocurrency assets from custodian wallet providers and exchanges. If necessary, they will also be able to destroy cryptocurrency assets.
The most popular method of destroying a cryptocurrency token is to burn it, which involves moving the tokens to a burn wallet address and removing them from circulation. The methodology for doing so was not specified.
It is scheduled to go into effect on April 26. The legislation that was approved intends to provide law enforcement more power to combat the use of cryptocurrency in crimes including as drug trafficking, scams, and cybercrime.
Since some people may be able to evade punishment by staying abroad, one of the clauses of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill permits the recovery of cryptocurrency assets used in crimes without first making an arrest.
But one British victim of cryptocurrency fraud, who lost about $46,000 to con artists, said that UK authorities would not be “well-equipped to handle crypto crimes against UK residents.”
He said the organization did not do enough to get back the money he had taken.
In the meantime, the UK government recently declared that it plans to enact new legislation within the next six months that will govern stablecoins and cryptocurrency staking.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami revealed that the government hopes to finish regulation before the election next year, which is scheduled to take place no later than January 28, 2025, at a cryptocurrency event held in London on February 19.
“We’re very clear that we want to get these things done as soon as possible. And I think over the next six months, those things are doable.”
Bim Afolami, Economic Secretary to the Treasury
