$5.1B in Illicit Crypto Transactions Linked to UK Annually: NCA

A new report from the United Kingdom National Crime Agency has discovered that As much as $5.1 billion worth of illegal crypto transactions are made in the country annually, with both digital and crypto-related crime on the rise.

The agency’s findings were published in its annual National Strategic Assessmentwhich uses data from law enforcement, government, and private intelligence agencies.

“As the popularity of cryptocurrencies grows, so does the frequency of cryptocurrency crime,” the report said.

The NCA found that the amount of money laundered in the UK increased throughout 2023, with criminals increasingly using cryptocurrencies to do so. The NCA added that this trend is likely to continue into 2024.

“Cryptocurrencies remain a key enabler of criminal transactions, for money laundering, paying for goods and services on the dark web, and demanding ransoms,” the report said. “Their legitimate use by the public also provides criminals with opportunities for fraud and theft.”

With this increase in cryptocurrency laundering, the National Crime Agency estimates that between $1.7 billion and $5.1 billion in illicit crypto transactions can be traced back to the UK each year. Furthermore, the report explains that a “significant portion” of money laundering in the UK is linked to “corrupt elites from overseas.”

The NCA established a specialist crypto unit in 2023 and was given greater powers to seize cryptocurrencies in April 2024. At the time, the UK government labelled privacy coins such as Monero as “not conducive to the public interest”.

A key case study described in the report concerns the NCA’s role in helping to bring down SlotBita cybercrime group described by Europol as “one of the world’s most prolific ransomware gangs.” The syndicate has collected more than $120 million in ransom payments from more than 2,000 victims worldwide, the Ministry of Justicewith total demand likely to run into the hundreds of millions.

In February, the criminal group was dismantled as a result of a coordinated campaign from the United States, the United Kingdom, and half a dozen other countries. The LockBit takedown resulted in the freezing of more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the group, and arrests were made around the world.