Director of enforcement for FCA on crypto regulation: We are helping 'get the future rules right'

According to an FCA press release, CB Payments Limited (CBPL), part of the Coinbase Group, was fined £3.5 million for breaching restrictions on serving high-risk customers. The firm permitted 13,416 high-risk customers to engage in crypto trading through other Coinbase entities, resulting in $226 million in transactions. These breaches were attributed to inadequate controls. Chambers emphasized that CBPL's failures heightened money laundering risks. This marks the first enforcement action under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.

Chambers began her legal career as a commercial litigator in private practice in London. For over two decades, she has been involved in UK regulatory enforcement at both the FCA and its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Throughout her career, she has led investigations and litigation in several high-profile cases, including Operation Tabernula—the UK's most complex insider dealing prosecution—as well as cases related to LIBOR and foreign exchange manipulations.

Learn Signal reports that the Financial Conduct Authority was established on April 1, 2013. It succeeded the FSA as part of a comprehensive reform of the UK's financial regulatory framework following the global financial crisis. Operating independently from the UK government, it is funded by fees charged to the financial services industry. Its primary objectives include protecting consumers, ensuring market integrity within UK financial markets, and promoting effective competition for consumer benefit.