UK National Crime Agency seizes $32.6 million in crypto, arrests 128 in Russian sanctions probe

Britain’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), a specialized unit within the National Crime Agency (NCA) focused on addressing economic crime, reported a sharp increase in the use of cryptocurrency by organized crime groups to launder illicit funds at scale. The agency highlighted this trend in its annual report released this week, raising concerns over the sophistication of criminals who leverage both emerging and traditional methods across international borders.

Criminals Turn to Crypto and AI

According to the NECC, criminal groups are making extensive use of crypto asset products to conceal financial trails and move funds beyond detection. The rise of these tactics coincides with growing technological innovation, as offenders now combine cryptocurrencies with advanced digital tools like AI-driven synthetic identities and process automation targeting banking systems.

Criminal networks, the NECC noted, are increasingly relying on external laundering services, rather than directly moving their own proceeds, paying specialized operations to cycle funds through both legitimate and illegitimate financial channels.

The NECC’s analysis further observed that many laundering organizations operate transnationally, exploiting the advantages of both the speed and global reach of cryptoassets and established movement of illicit cash.

Mini dictionary: National Economic Crime Centre (NECC): A specialized division of the UK’s National Crime Agency, responsible for coordinating national efforts to tackle complex economic crimes, including money laundering, fraud, and illicit use of digital assets.

Crypto Now a Top Economic Crime Threat

Cryptoassets have become the third-highest threat in the list of nine national economic crime priorities agreed upon by the NECC, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Home Office, and the Treasury. This ranking, updated in July 2025, now places cryptoassets ahead of risks posed by physical criminal cash and money mule activities, highlighting government concern over the growing abuse of digital currencies.

The NECC said it is developing a more proactive and intelligence-led capability to counter illicit crypto activity, emphasizing a shift from reactive casework toward actively pursuing and identifying new threats using its own intelligence resources. The agency did not provide further details on specific steps or operational changes.

In March, the NECC worked with the US Secret Service and major cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Tether, during Operation Atlantic. This operation identified 20,000 victims of approval-phishing scams and froze $12 million in linked accounts, underlining the international and collaborative nature of modern crypto investigations.

UK-Led Operation Destabilise Targets Russian Sanctions Evasion

The National Crime Agency has intensified efforts against sanctions evasion linked to Russia, with Operation Destabilise now resulting in 128 arrests and the seizure of $32.6 million across crypto and cash. When first announced in 2024, the operation had recorded 84 arrests and confiscated $25.5 million, but new data reveals a further 45 suspected money launderers have since been detained and over $6.6 million seized.

Operation Destabilise specifically targets Russian-speaking networks involved in converting large amounts of criminal cash into cryptocurrency, seeking to disrupt global illicit finance flows. The recent figure of 129 total arrests reflects ongoing momentum, with the NCA stating that this approach will be expanded to confront other groups posing “the greatest illicit finance risk to the UK.”

A discussion paper prepared after a NECC-hosted roundtable in July 2025 recommended against blanket crackdowns on cryptoassets, instead advocating for targeted efforts against key networks behind large-scale laundering and sanctions evasion.