Financial Conduct Authority to Investigate 50 Crypto Firms

Last year, the largest financial regulator of the United Kingdom, FCA or Financial Conduct Authority, issued around 300 lawsuits directed at cryptocurrency firms in the region. This year, the watchdog is planning to sue 50 more cryptocurrency organizations in the circle of legal scrutiny. According to the latest article published in the Financial Times that the results of the cases sued last year are out.

FCA spokesperson told media recently that these lawsuits launched by the government agency found hundreds of scamming and financial fraud cases. The agency has taken the measure to post all the latest legal reports about these tried organizations on the official website of FCA. The agency also postulated that during last year the number of cryptocurrency scams increased by 50% in the region.

Financial Scam Statistics

Sarah Pritchard is the executive director of markets at Financial Conduct Authority. She recently told the media that the financial scam statistics issued by FCA are accurate and worrying. The FCA report postulates that from 2021 to 2022, the citizens submitted around 4,300 scam complaints about cryptocurrency trading.

Meanwhile, the pension transfers related objections paled in comparison with a total of 1,600 reports. She also raised the question that it is not understandable why the government has allowed so many unregulated cryptocurrency firms to operate in the region without any legal accountability and impunity. She also asked the question of when the government will start working towards this end and protect the citizens from financial ruin.

FCA Issued Several Warnings to Investors

AJ Bell recently published a survey report that indicates that around 30% of digital investors dedicate up to 10% of their portfolio to digital assets. At the same time, around one-third of the survey participants claimed that they are proceeding with caution and don’t plan on losing big chunks of money at present. However, the FCA has issued several public warnings to persuade the investors about not investing in crypto more than what they can afford to lose.

Head of Investment Analysis at AJ Bell, Laith Khalaf, recently claimed that the majority of the cryptocurrency investors do not have any backup plans like pension programs or ISA. Other reports in the same respect suggest that many people treat crypto investment like lottery or gambling and end up losing big money.