UK Sees Surge in Illicit Crypto Transactions, Says NCA Report

• UK sees $5.1B in annual illicit crypto transactions linked to serious crime, NCA reports.
• Criminal networks exploit cryptocurrencies, complicating law enforcement efforts in the UK.
• International cooperation disrupts major ransomware groups laundering money via digital assets.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has reported a staggering $5.1 billion in illicit cryptocurrency transactions yearly. These transactions are increasingly linked to serious and organized crime, highlighting the growing complexity of law enforcement efforts to combat financial crime.

The NCA’s findings underscore the challenges authorities face in tracing illicit funds as criminals turn to digital currencies to launder non-digital assets, including cash.

According to the NCA, criminal networks have rapidly adapted to the digital age, using cryptocurrencies to obscure the origins of their funds. This shift in criminal behaviour has made it increasingly difficult for law enforcement to track the proceeds of crime. 

The NCA report documents how generated crime proceeds from UK are being funneled through a global cybercrime syndicate making it hard to track and freeze such funds.

The fact that money laundering through the new international digital currencies is being practiced denotes a new threat, for these new international networks combine different techniques in concealing the flow of such cash. 

The report also revealed that the level of cybercrime increased significantly and noted malware and ransomware attacks. These attacks are employed by criminals in order to gain virtual assets, which are thereafter ‘cleaned’ via cryptocurrencies. 

Malware is intended to fully compromise a victim’s device, whereas ransomware locks a victim’s files and demands payment, usually in Bitcoin. The NCA points out to the increasing risk of such incursions as these commonly assail their targets worldwide. 

Due to the increased risks posed by cybercriminals, the NCA has doubled its efforts to curb the vice with the assistance of foreign counterparts. Back in the first half of this year, NCA in conjunction with other agencies including the FBI managed to dismantle LockBit; a popular ransomware gang. 

LockBit had demanded an amount of more than $120 million from over 2000 targets across the globe. This has in effect eliminated the most crucial among the group’s administration grounds and climate forbidding it from proceeding with further attacks. 

Police forces in Poland and Ukraine detained two LockBit members, while Europol seized more than 200 crypto wallets connected to the hackers. These actions show that the world does not sit idly while increasing the connection between cybercriminals and quantum tokens and other unlawful activities, signifying an increase in the fight against digital financial crime.