UK’s National Crime Agency Builds a Specialised Crypto Investigation Team

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is planning to establish a professional team to investigate crypto scams and design strict regulations to secure the virtual asset industry against financial crimes, such as money laundering and terrorist financing.

The United Kingdom law enforcement agency, NCA, seeks to hire 6 crypto investigators for their new project and create a specialised digital assets team. The crypto experts assist the NCA in preventing virtual assets from financial crimes. Crypto investigators will also support in designing new and existing AML rules, and they can lead the team in identifying the scammers. According to NCA, “the role will be dedicated to a proactive cryptocurrency remit with the right tools and capabilities to target UK-based subjects along with supporting colleagues with specialist advice and guidance.”  The candidate should have in-depth knowledge of crypto and trading platforms and how they work, including being able to conduct advanced tracing on blockchains. 

The creation of a specialised team to investigate crypto scams signal the ongoing creation of the rigid AML framework to secure the integrity of the global financial system. It will assist United Kingdom authorities to align the crypto industry with international standards and prevent virtual asset service providers from committing severe financial crimes. The United Kingdom Treasury Office established its regulatory strategy for the cryptocurrency market on October 30th, putting fiat-backed stablecoins under the close scrutiny of financial regulators and establishing a framework for other crypto-related activities.

The basic salary NCA issued for this role falls between $51,377 to $55,670; serval crypto community members declined that offer and stated the amount is too low. Most members claim that the pay for this role is insufficient to keep the investigator away from planning a rogue. Crypto investor, AlgisLoran, stated on Twitter, “The guys will quickly investigate ways to make more money in crypto for themselves and will get the know-how of how to avoid being investigated by their colleagues.” 

Before that, a bill empowering law enforcement to seize virtual assets connected to illegal acts, including money laundering, fraud, and ransomware attacks, was adopted by the United Kingdom Parliament. Additionally, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also issued regulations to force financial institutes to conduct risk assessments before onboarding the companies whilst ordering crypto investment platforms to warn investors about the potential risk of losing their assets. 

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