Over 1,600 websites suspected of promoting financial services without permission were suspended, removed or blocked last year after FCA action, the financial watchdog has revealed.

The regulator’s latest annual report has provided a detailed analysis of its fight against financial crime in the UK, which claims that the FCA assessed around 480,000 new websites in 2024 providing or promoting financial services or products, ultimately suspending or blocking over 3,000 domains.

As well as seeing illegal websites shut down, last year also saw the FCA collaborate more with Big Tech, resulting in over fifty apps being removed from Google Play and the App Store.

Meanwhile, the FCA also spent considerable resources combatting the rise in ‘finfluencers’ across social media, including an investigation into a group of social media and reality

TV figures with a combined Instagram following of 4.6 million, who the watchdog alleges promoted FX trading despite none of them being authorised by the FCA to make such promotions.   

The regulator’s work to target such finfluencers has resulted in twenty individuals being interviewed under caution for illegally promoting financial services and products, with five convictions already secured and 37 defendants awaiting trial.

At the other end of the scale, the last year has also witnessed the FCA level high-profile fines against two challenger banks for financial crime control failings, first with the £29 million penalty handed to Starling Bank last October, followed by a £16.7 million fine levelled at Metro Bank in November.

Since then, the regulator has added a third bank to this list, having fined Monzo £21 million earlier this week for similar failings.

Those fines were the result of the FCA ramping up its anti-money laundering efforts, which the report claims has resulted in 546 anti-money laundering assessments in the last year, up from 435 the year before.

The regulator has also taken a stronger stance on cryptocurrencies, both in targeting illegality and developing new rules for legitimate crypto firms, hoping to protect consumers from every direction.

For instance, since February 2024, firms have required permission to approve financial cryptoasset promotions, with the FCA also helping to develop regulatory frameworks for cryptoasset custody.

But last year also saw the watchdog successfully prosecute an individual running multiple crypto ATMs, which processed over £2.5 million in transactions, as well as push for the conviction of two members of an organised crime group guilty of defrauding at least 65 investors out of £1.5 million in a crypto investment fraud.

Meanwhile, the FCA has also improved how it uses data to detect problem firms.

Since June 2024, new technology has automatically identified 849 firms that hadn’t notified the FCA of their insolvency, allowing the regulator to swiftly update the financial services register and address any potential harm

Aside from chasing criminals, the FCA has spent the past year introducing new technologies to find more flexible, innovative regulation ideas.

Recommended reading

• FCA Launches AI Lab Focussed On Financial Innovation
• FCA Data Chief on the ‘Spinning Coin’ of AI in Financial Services
• 90% of Finance Functions to Deploy AI by 2026

For instance, the regulator’s Digital Securities Sandbox, operated with the Bank of England, has accepted eight applications since opening last year, allowing those businesses to trial new tech in real-world conditions.

The report claims that the FCA’s broader suite of sandboxes has supported almost 1,000 firms, with sandbox firms 50% more likely to raise funding, and on average raising 15% more cash.

“Our annual report shows how we’ve laid the strongest possible foundation from which to implement our new strategy,” said Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA.

“We’ll build on this over the next five years to deepen trust and rebalance risk so we can support growth and improve lives.”