UK bill focused on seizing illegal crypto moves to final stages

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is making its way through the final stages of approval after going through the House of Lords.

The UK bill, initially introduced in September of last year, would expand authorities’ abilities to seize and freeze crypto used in crimes including money laundering and drug trafficking.

It has passed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning that it just has to go through a consideration of amendments in the House of Commons before it is made law through Royal assent. Essentially, King Charles will formally agree to make it law.

According to the bill’s site, the consideration of amendments is scheduled to take place on Oct. 18.

“We hope we can ensure that enforcement takes place once it is on the statute book, so that dirty money can be exposed, illegal assets can be seized, and action is taken against those who are guilty of economic crime. We must not have further delay in pushing for transparency and action in tackling economic crime,” Labour MP Rushanara Ali said according to a transcript.

The legislation would link to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which “sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.” The new legislation would make it easier for authorities to seize and freeze crypto linked to criminal activities.

The UK has been cracking down on crypto, from ads to crypto transaction reporting. In July, it threw out a proposal to regulate crypto trading and investing like gambling.

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• Blockworks Daily: Unpacking crypto and the markets.
• Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
• Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
• 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
• Lightspeed: All things Solana.
• The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
• Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.