UK police officers executed a search warrant leading to the seizure of illegal crypto ATMs from Chatham electronics shop.
The authorities confirmed charging the first individual in the country for running a crypto ATM. The devices have become relatively common despite the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – the UK’s financial services regulator banned them in 2022.
Coin ATM Radar data shows 81 devices were working in the UK by March 2022. The figures placed the UK among the ten leading hosts globally then.
While the UK police have executed numerous crackdowns on crypto ATMs, the arrest of the shop owner is the first criminal charge since the ban.
In February last year, the FCA declared a crackdown on the unregistered crypto ATMs. The agency confirmed entering and inspecting sites within Leeds city.
The watchdog agency clarified the raid followed suspicion that the North England region was hosting illegally operated devices. The FCA hailed the collaboration with the local enforcement forces, including the West Yorkshire Digital Intelligence and Investigation Unit, in the joint operation.
The recent crackdown featured a search warrant by the UK police officers targeting a Chatham-based electronics shop in Kent. The raid led to the successful seizure of crypto ATMs, one of which was publicly displayed.
The officers reported arresting 37-year-old Habibur Rahman, a resident of the Langdon Crescent, following the search. The officers charged the shop owner for operating the crypto ATM without seeking requisite registration from the FCA.
The Kent police complaint alleges Rahman facilitated laundering of £300,000 in illicit cash through its conversion into crypto assets. The accused is currently out on bail awaiting the trial on October 10.
The FCA head of payments and digital assets division, Matthew Long, ruled out the presence of registered crypto ATMs. The FCA director indicated that those utilizing the machines hand the money to criminals.
The FCA decries that crypto ATMs are a command channel to hand over funds to the criminal space worldwide. Additional reports show an estimated $160M was processed in illicit volumes in the cash-to-crypto space. Crypto analyst TRM Labs observes that criminal actors have primarily operated through crypto ATMs since 2019.
In contrast to the UK, Germany considers crypto ATMs legal, provided the parties running them adhere to the rules and regulations laid down. Nonetheless, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) confirmed a recent confiscation of 13 crypto ATMs that lacked requisite licenses. The raid led to the seizure of devices and cash of $279,000 estimated value.
Other jurisdictions have seen the crypto ATM industry become more common, unlike the move by the UK to clamp down on devices. Australia leads with the crypto ATM growth estimated at 1700% over the past two years.
In New Zealand, there has been zero to 157 kiosk growth in the past 12, per the TRM Labs report. Similar growth is evident in the US, with over 31,843 devices installed per Coin ATM Radar data.
Bitcoin ATM Growth in Australia
Australia is among the jurisdictions that have seen accelerated growth in Bitcoin ATMs from 73 units in September 2022. Fresh data from Coin ATM Radar data indicates that over 1160 teller machines are present.
The terrier machines have witnessed a sustained spike in recent years, making the country the fastest-growing destination in the world. The government now trails the US and Canada trailing third in installations, whose figures of 31,861 and 3,004 dwarf the Island nation’s devices.
Unlike Australia, the US has retained the same device number since February 2022. At the same time, Canada has witnessed 780 new ATMs. The surge witnessed in Australia follows the false start of Bitcoin kiosks following the countrywide crackdown on the devices following the crypto prices surge in 2019.
A local crypto exchange, Auscoin, was the pioneer device marketing platform. Efforts by Auscoin to establish a network of ATMs faltered when the regulator AUSTRAC suspended the license, citing links to organized crime.
AUSTRAC report in April 2022 linked the crypto ATMs as facilitating funding of criminal activity. The report affirmed that Bitcoin ATMs are legal in the country when licensed.
The rapid rise in the devices figure since 2022 emerges from overseas entities seeking to fill the void following Auscoin’s failure. CoinFlip commands market leadership with its 700 kiosks spread across Australia and New Zealand, as Coin ATM Radar data shows.
CoinFlip gained entry into the country following the successful acquisition of local operator – Layer 8 Networks. The acquisition in 2022 coincided with when the national ATM network began growing.
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