The U.K. has introduced a law that expands its power to destroy and seize crypto connected to criminal activity.
After the first reading of the Crime and Policing Bill in the House of Commons the bill now undergoes its second reading and is soon to proceed to the Committee stage.
The new law is intended to strengthen the overall strategy of economic crime in China by improving the capability of police officers to recover illicit crypto-assets and give them back to victims.
One of the key provisions in the bill gives the Crown Court the power to issue confiscation orders that involve crypto.
Crown Courts in the UK are responsible for handling serious criminal matters such as murder, fraud and robbery. The Crown Court has also the power to impose major sentences.
It also specifies how assets which must be destroyed are handled, and ensures their value is correctly assessed using market prices when they were destroyed.
Bill includes provisions for asset recovery that will simplify and streamline the seizure process. This allows the law to recover money stolen by criminals, and re-direct it to their victims.
This bill aims to prevent those who commit crimes against digital assets from retaining the profits of their criminal activities.
This bill adds to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2020, giving law enforcement more powers to seize and freeze crypto.
EECTA was also designed to increase corporate accountability when it comes to financial crime. The new legislation strengthens existing laws to counter the threats of crypto crimes.
Crypto-Crime on the Rise: UK
The UK has been facing a surge in crypto-related crimes, with illicit transactions linked to the country estimated to be between $1.7 billion and $5.1 billion annually, according to the UK's National Crime Agency.
Home invasions that are violently carried out with the intention of stealing digital data is one of the more disturbing trends.
In January, a group of seven British males was sentenced for a total of six decades in prison after they kidnapped and tortured a victim to make him transfer crypto valued at hundreds of thousands.
A home invasion took place in 2020. A victim from Scotland was forced to give up his cryptocurrency after being threatened with a machete.
The machete-wielding attackers eventually were captured, but they had not done much harm or distress to their victim.
In addition to violent crime, money laundering and fraud related to cryptography are common.
A group of fraudsters took advantage of a security flaw in CoinSpot (an Australian exchange) to steal large amounts of money. The fraud went unnoticed for a while.
Last month, the group was sentenced to prison for money laundering and ordered by the court to pay back $30 million of stolen funds.
Stacy Elliott edited this article.
