United States and Britain Form Partnership to Combat Cryptocurrency Fraud Operations
The cooperation pact establishes parallel investigative efforts and intelligence exchange protocols, with American and British law enforcement officials organizing a private-sector disruption initiative scheduled for London this October.
A collaborative law enforcement partnership between the United States and United Kingdom has been established to combat scam operations engaged in cryptocurrency and cyber-facilitated investment fraud schemes.
The US Department of Justice made an announcement on Thursday revealing that the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, alongside the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales and the UK National Crime Agency, executed a memorandum of understanding. According to the DOJ's characterization, this represents the "first-of-its-kind" international partnership agreement designed to dismantle these fraudulent scam operations.
The agreement's terms stipulate that participating agencies will pursue parallel investigative efforts targeting mutual subjects of interest, exchange intelligence regarding organized criminal syndicates, and engage in deliberations to determine which legal jurisdictions should handle prosecution of particular cases. According to the DOJ's statement, law enforcement authorities have already pinpointed cases with overlapping elements and are preparing an in-person disruption initiative involving private-sector collaborators in London during early October.
This international partnership arrangement emerges amid escalating reports of American financial losses stemming from cryptocurrency investment fraud. Financial losses documented by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center experienced an 89% surge, climbing from $4.57 billion in 2023 to $8.65 billion in 2025, as reported by the DOJ.
International efforts target crypto scam compounds
This partnership agreement represents an expansion of the Scam Center Strike Force, an initiative that US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro established in November 2025 with the objective of targeting Chinese organized criminal networks that operate scam facilities concentrated primarily throughout Southeast Asia. These criminal enterprises deploy schemes encompassing crypto investment fraud and frequently maintain connections to human trafficking operations and money laundering activities, as documented by the DOJ.
The strike force's composition includes participation from the FBI, US Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations and various Justice Department offices. Additional collaboration extends to the US Treasury and State departments along with private sector companies, all working collectively to dismantle scam operations and facilitate the recovery of victims' financial assets.
Law enforcement agencies across international borders have orchestrated coordinated enforcement actions against comparable criminal operations. The DOJ disclosed on April 29 details of a Dubai police-directed operation that incorporated participation from the FBI and China's Ministry of Public Security, which culminated in 276 individuals being arrested and no fewer than nine crypto scam facilities being shut down. Criminal charges were filed against six individuals in connection with schemes that purportedly utilized fraudulent crypto investment platforms to solicit deposit transactions from unsuspecting victims.
Southeast Asian governmental authorities have similarly pursued more stringent domestic regulatory actions. Myanmar's military government released draft legislative proposals on May 15 that recommended sentencing parameters ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for digital currency fraud offenses, with capital punishment provisions potentially applicable in circumstances where individuals forced into labor at scam facilities were murdered.
The legislative bill received parliamentary approval on July 28, although confirmation of presidential assent remained pending.