US and UK Launch Joint Alliance to Target Global Crypto Scam Centers

U.S. and UK authorities have launched a formal joint alliance to disrupt overseas scam centers involved in cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking and money laundering.

On 3 September 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales and the UK National Crime Agency announced a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Scam Center Strike Force and its British counterparts. The U.S. Department of Justice described it as the first such agreement focused specifically on international cooperation against scam centers conducting cryptocurrency and cyber-enabled investment fraud and related schemes.

Parallel investigations and joint disruption

Under the memorandum, the participating authorities plan to conduct parallel investigations into common targets, share information on organised-crime syndicates, coordinate decisions about where cases should be brought and prioritise cases of mutual interest.

The agencies said they had already identified significant overlap in their investigations. A joint in-person disruption event involving private-sector partners is planned for early October in London and will be hosted by the National Crime Agency.

The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force was launched in November 2025 to target transnational organised-crime groups operating scam compounds primarily in Southeast Asia. Its remit includes cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking and money laundering.

Losses tied to cyber-enabled investment fraud

According to figures cited by the Justice Department from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, cyber-enabled fraud accounted for almost 85% of losses reported to IC3 in 2025. Reported losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud rose from US$4.57 billion in 2023 to US$8.65 billion in 2025, an increase of 89%.

The Justice Department said the wider category of scam-center activity is costing Americans approximately US$10 billion annually, while cautioning that victim-reporting data may materially understate actual losses.

The new alliance matters from an AML perspective because it moves international cooperation beyond victim warnings toward coordinated investigation, asset disruption and prosecution of the organised networks that operate scam compounds and launder their proceeds. The inclusion of private-sector partners in the planned London disruption event also points to a stronger operational role for financial institutions, technology platforms and other intermediaries in identifying and disrupting the movement of scam proceeds.