UK Authorities to Be Able to Seize Crypto More Easily

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In late April, the UK government issued a statutory instrument that allows law enforcement to freeze crypto assets used in illegal activities without the need for a criminal conviction.

This recent document, published on Feb. 29, details updates to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, granting the National Crime Agency expanded power to seize and confiscate suspicious crypto assets.

This process will not require lengthy legal procedures. Furthermore, authorities can now obtain crypto assets directly from exchanges and custodian wallets and even destroy them, if necessary.

While the exact method is not specified, burning is a common practice in destroying crypto tokens, in which the tokens are transferred to a “burn wallet” address and taken out of circulation.

This new law will go into effect on April 26. In 2022, Cointelegraph reported on the passing of the legislation, which aims to strengthen authorities’ ability to combat the use of crypto in illegal activities such as cybercrime, scams, and drug trafficking.