Cryptocurrency exchanges are among a range of financial services firms that have become obliged to share annual financial crime information with the UK's financial watchdog.

According to a policy statement published today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pressed ahead with its previous plans to bring the so-called ‘cryptoasset businesses’ under additional reporting requirements.

The scope of new reporting obligations covers both trading platforms and custodial wallet providers. And outside the crypto domain, electronic money institutions and multilateral trading facilities are among the other categories of firms that became subject to the new rules set out by the FCA.

The City watchdog outlines that it would not apply revenue thresholds to define the firms required to submit the annual financial crime report. Irrespective of their total annual revenue, the addressed firms are those that 'hold  Client Money  Client Money Client money refers to the money or margin – which may be any currency in the form of cash, check, draft, or electronic transfer – that a firm receives or holds for a client. Money held by a firm in the form of a stakeholder, which is are not payable on demand or immediately due, also refers to client money. The definition of client money does not apply to money held by businesses that operate in its own name on behalf of a client. Although the client does have to be in agreement before this arrangement is made. Who Owns Client’s Money?When clients transfer complete ownership of money to a firm with the intention of covering present or future, contingent or actual or prospective obligations, that money is no longer seen as client money once it is transferred out of the account to the firm. When a firm acquires full ownership of money through a collateral agreement, the firm has also taken an obligation to repay the client although distributed funds upon agreement completion are not considered to be client money. This transfer of full ownership of money is an example of a title transfer financial collateral arrangement under the Financial Collateral Directive, were once transferred that client’s money is no longer considered client money.Should a firm enter an arrangement with a client where a commission is rebated, those rebates are not considered client money until they become due with the terms of the agreements set forth between both parties. Firms are required to operate with the client’s best interest rule, which means that they are required to act professionally, honestly, and fairly. Client money refers to the money or margin – which may be any currency in the form of cash, check, draft, or electronic transfer – that a firm receives or holds for a client. Money held by a firm in the form of a stakeholder, which is are not payable on demand or immediately due, also refers to client money. The definition of client money does not apply to money held by businesses that operate in its own name on behalf of a client. Although the client does have to be in agreement before this arrangement is made. Who Owns Client’s Money?When clients transfer complete ownership of money to a firm with the intention of covering present or future, contingent or actual or prospective obligations, that money is no longer seen as client money once it is transferred out of the account to the firm. When a firm acquires full ownership of money through a collateral agreement, the firm has also taken an obligation to repay the client although distributed funds upon agreement completion are not considered to be client money. This transfer of full ownership of money is an example of a title transfer financial collateral arrangement under the Financial Collateral Directive, were once transferred that client’s money is no longer considered client money.Should a firm enter an arrangement with a client where a commission is rebated, those rebates are not considered client money until they become due with the terms of the agreements set forth between both parties. Firms are required to operate with the client’s best interest rule, which means that they are required to act professionally, honestly, and fairly. Read this Term or assets' or carry on an activity that the FCA considers to be a higher  Money Laundering  Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laundered through financial institutions each year.This is not entirely surprising given the structure of the financial services industry and the nature of products and services offered by its participants.An ecosystem that involves the management, control, and processing of finances is inherently vulnerable to abuse by money launderers.Money Laundering ExplainedThe act of laundering is committed in circumstances in which an individual or entity is engaged in an arrangement that involves the proceeds of crime. These arrangements include a wide range of business relationships, i.e. banking, fiduciary and investment management.However, the degree of knowledge or suspicion will depend upon the specific offense but will usually be present where the person providing the arrangement, service or product knows, suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the property involved in the arrangement represents the proceeds of crime. In some cases, the offence may also be committed where a person knows or suspects that the person with whom he or she is dealing is engaged in or has benefited from criminal conduct.One of the primary criticisms against cryptocurrencies has been their propensity for money laundering. Their anonymous nature and unregulated network structure make them ideally suited for money launders. Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laundered through financial institutions each year.This is not entirely surprising given the structure of the financial services industry and the nature of products and services offered by its participants.An ecosystem that involves the management, control, and processing of finances is inherently vulnerable to abuse by money launderers.Money Laundering ExplainedThe act of laundering is committed in circumstances in which an individual or entity is engaged in an arrangement that involves the proceeds of crime. These arrangements include a wide range of business relationships, i.e. banking, fiduciary and investment management.However, the degree of knowledge or suspicion will depend upon the specific offense but will usually be present where the person providing the arrangement, service or product knows, suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the property involved in the arrangement represents the proceeds of crime. In some cases, the offence may also be committed where a person knows or suspects that the person with whom he or she is dealing is engaged in or has benefited from criminal conduct.One of the primary criticisms against cryptocurrencies has been their propensity for money laundering. Their anonymous nature and unregulated network structure make them ideally suited for money launders. Read this Term risk.

The annual financial crime reporting obligation (REP-CRIM) aggregates information that assists the UK regulators in monitoring trends in financial crime. Since 2016, it has only been applied to larger firms.

Many Crypto Firms Shuttered UK Operations

“REP-CRIM provides us information on a range of indicators that reflect the potential money laundering risks of firms’ based on their regulated activity and helps us to supervise firms. In our 2020/21 Business Plan, we said we would consider extending the REP-CRIM reporting obligation to more firms,” the regulator said.

Many crypto businesses shuttered their operations in the United Kingdom after the applicability of final rules banning derivatives that allow investors to take a view on the direction of the price of crypto assets. The ban affects CFDs, options and futures, as well as exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that relate to unregulated crypto assets.

The FCA estimates the prohibition would save investors £53 million ($69 million) a year in losses, but it would not force them to liquidate their existing trades. The watchdog considers these products are ‘ill-suited to retail consumers’ who cannot assess the risks of derivatives or ETNs that reference certain crypto-assets.

Citing concern over investor protection, the authorities said that even companies that sell regulated investments with an underlying cryptocurrency element will need FCA authorization to do so, depending on their activities.