A RUSI taskforce says enforcement is the UK's crypto weak spot, months before global money laundering assessors arrive in June 2027

A taskforce convened by the Royal United Services Institute has warned that crypto could hurt the UK in its next evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force. "The UK's crypto challenge is enforcement," the report, published on Friday, says.

The timing is tight. FATF assessors are due to visit in June 2027, while the UK's new statutory crypto regime only takes effect on October 25, 2027, Decrypt reported. The UK's evaluation report is set to be agreed at FATF's February 2028 plenary in Paris.

The group, made up of experts from the private sector, law enforcement and civil society, met in September. Members doubted the UK would be able to show adequate implementation by the visit, said it had moved more cautiously than Hong Kong, the EU and Singapore, and agreed that assessors would examine over-the-counter brokers. They also warned that the new rules could push the riskiest activity outside the Financial Conduct Authority's reach, leaving police to trace assets such as USDT.

Decrypt noted that City of London Police estimates 66% of UK investment fraud involves crypto, and that the 2025 National Risk Assessment raised crypto money laundering to high risk, from medium in 2020. The taskforce meets again in November.