UK considers blanket ban on crypto investment cold calls
As the United Kingdom prepares for a ban on finance-related cold calls, His Majesty’s Treasury has issued a consultation paper, and it is calling for evidence to gauge the full impact on businesses and the costs associated with introducing and implementing the ban.
On May 3, the U.K. government announced an ambitious fraud strategy, which would involve adding 400 new jobs to update its approach to intelligence-led policing. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the National Crime Agency estimates that fraud costs the country approximately 7 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) annually.
“The government will not tolerate this behavior,” said Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury, while criticizing the rising cold calls for financial services and products that often target the most vulnerable members of society.
The Treasury highlighted numerous instances where cold calls were responsible for investors’ losses, out of which one involved cryptocurrencies, as shown above. While the U.K. government previously implemented various prohibitions and restrictions on cold calling, scammers often find loopholes in the system to bypass the law.
Intending to impose a blanket ban on financial cold calls, the Treasury put forth 19 questions to stakeholders to ensure maximum impact on scammers and minimum effect on businesses that often rely on cold calling prospects. The consultation closes on Sept. 27, 2023.
Related: UK Treasury plans to exclude derivatives and ‘unbacked’ tokens from regulatory sandbox
The U.K. government recently rejected the appeal to consider and regulate cryptocurrencies as gambling.
“HM Treasury and the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority] will work with the industry to ensure crypto firms are made fully aware of the standards required for approval at the FSMA gateway. Further communications will be provided in due course to ensure standards for approval are clearly available to crypto firms operating in the UK.“
The government response noted that such an approach has the potential to completely counter the globally agreed recommendations from international organizations and standard-setting bodies.
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US prosecutors charged two men for allegedly running the crypto fraud scheme OmegaPro, which promised 300% returns to investors.
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Politics
UK and France have ‘shared responsibility’ to tackle illegal migration, Emmanuel Macron says
Emmanuel Macron has said the UK and France have a “shared responsibility” to tackle the “burden” of illegal migration, as he urged co-operation between London and Paris ahead of a crunch summit later this week.
Addressing parliament in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday, the French president said the UK-France summit would bring “cooperation and tangible results” regarding the small boats crisis in the Channel.
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King Charles III at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA
Mr Macron – who is the first European leader to make a state visit to the UK since Brexit – told the audience that while migrants’ “hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate”, “we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life”.
“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he added.
Looking ahead to the UK-France summit on Thursday, he promised the “best ever cooperation” between France and the UK “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries”.
Sir Keir Starmer will hope to reach a deal with his French counterpart on a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal at the key summit on Thursday.
King Charles also addressed the delegations at a state banquet in Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, saying the summit would “deepen our alliance and broaden our partnerships still further”.
King Charles speaking at state banquet welcoming Macron.
Sitting next to President Macron, the monarch said: “Our armed forces will cooperate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine as we join together in leading a coalition of the willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression. In other words, in defence of our shared values.”
In April, British officials confirmed a pilot scheme was being considered to deport migrants who cross the English Channel in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in France with legitimate claims.
The two countries have engaged in talks about a one-for-one swap, enabling undocumented asylum seekers who have reached the UK by small boat to be returned to France.
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Britain would then receive migrants from France who would have a right to be in the UK, like those who already have family settled here.
The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.
President Macron greets Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at his address to parliament in Westminster.
Elsewhere in his speech, the French president addressed Brexit, and said the UK could not “stay on the sidelines” despite its departure from the European Union.
He said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.
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“Our two countries are among the oldest sovereign nations in Europe, and sovereignty means a lot to both of us, and everything I referred to was about sovereignty, deciding for ourselves, choosing our technologies, our economy, deciding our diplomacy, and deciding the content we want to share and the ideas we want to share, and the controversies we want to share.
“Even though it is not part of the European Union, the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines because defence and security, competitiveness, democracy – the very core of our identity – are connected across Europe as a continent.”
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