Britain's National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) has warned that criminals are making innovative use of crypto asset products to evade detection and move illicit value at scale. The finding was published this week in the annual report of the unit, which is part of the National Crime Agency and coordinates the UK's response to economic crime.
According to the threat assessment, laundering networks are proliferating across borders by combining novel and traditional methods to move money through both licit and illicit systems simultaneously. The report noted that many organized crime groups now outsource their money laundering operations to dedicated networks for a fee. The agency also placed artificial intelligence alongside crypto, citing the use of synthetic identities and process automation targeted against banks.
Crypto Prioritization and Enforcement Operations
Cryptoassets now rank third among nine economic crime priorities established by the NECC in agreement with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Home Office, and the Treasury. Published in July 2025, the priority list directs regulated firms on where to focus their compliance efforts, placing crypto above criminal cash and money mules.
The NECC stated it is developing a more proactive and intelligence-led crypto capability to inform its response to cross-cutting priorities. Recent collaborative efforts include Operation Atlantic, a week-long initiative at NCA headquarters involving the U.S. Secret Service alongside cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Tether. In March, the operation identified 20,000 approval-phishing victims and froze $12 million.
Additionally, Operation Destabilise—an initiative targeting Russian-speaking networks that convert street cash into crypto—has resulted in 129 arrests and the seizure of more than £25 million in the UK. The agency announced plans to expand the approach used in Operation Destabilise to address other high-harm money laundering networks posing significant illicit finance risks.
Stance on Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
The NECC annual report also references academic work, including a report on Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in the Crypto Industry published by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The paper stemmed from a July 2025 roundtable hosted by the NECC and argued against a regulatory crackdown on privacy tools.
Participants at the roundtable maintained that privacy tools should not be banned, arguing that prohibition would push illicit actors onto unregulated services and leave investigators with fewer compliant firms from which to request information. RUSI associate fellow Allison Owen noted that building trust through compliance features will ultimately expand the use of the technology.
