Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd, a British electronic-money institution, handled at least £2 billion ($2.7 billion) for a small group of high-risk customers before the Financial Conduct Authority moved to force it into administration over money-laundering concerns. Court filings reveal that almost all of more than 20,000 payments totalling £2.1 billion in a single year were made on behalf of just 14 clients the firm itself had assessed as 'high risk', highlighting the FCA's intensifying crackdown on weak anti-crime controls in the UK payments sector.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has moved decisively against a British payments company over serious money-laundering concerns, in a case that underscores the regulator's growing alarm about financial crime risks within the rapidly expanding electronic-money sector. According to High Court filings reported on June 22-23, 2026, Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd handled at least £2 billion ($2.7 billion) on behalf of a small group of risky customers before the FCA forced it into administration earlier in June.
The scale of the concentration is striking: the firm told the FCA in August that it had made more than 20,000 payments totalling £2.1 billion over the previous 12 months, with almost the entire value of those transactions flowing through just 14 clients that Euro Exchange Securities had itself assessed as posing a 'high risk' of money laundering. The FCA alleged the firm presented 'significant risks of financial crime' and 'unacceptable money-laundering risks to the UK financial system'.
The regulatory action followed a six-year supervisory history. The FCA approved Euro Exchange Securities to operate as an electronic-money institution (EMI) in 2018, but began 'sustained supervisory engagement' just two years later due to perceived weaknesses in its controls. A formal probe launched in May 2024 found the firm lacked 'adequate systems and controls' around client onboarding and ongoing monitoring. Court documents reveal troubling client examples, including a newly incorporated company with a single director, minimal capital, and a €500,000 monthly turnover, whose stated business activities and geographic footprint did not align in a way the FCA could explain.
Matthew Long, the FCA's director of payments and digital assets, described the action as 'part of a wider effort to clean up parts of the payments sector'. The case is one of several recent FCA interventions: the regulator also placed Monevium Ltd and Amplifi Capital (UK) Limited into administration in June, reflecting heightened scrutiny of EMIs that hold client funds, process payments, and issue e-money. The FCA has authorised scores of such firms in recent years but has grown increasingly concerned that the sector is, in its words, rife with fraud and poor anti-crime controls.
Key Points
- 1Euro Exchange Securities handled at least £2 billion ($2.7 billion) for a small group of high-risk clients
- 2More than 20,000 payments totalling £2.1 billion in one year flowed through just 14 'high risk' clients
- 3The FCA forced the firm into administration over 'unacceptable money-laundering risks'
- 4The FCA had flagged control weaknesses since 2020, two years after authorising the firm in 2018
- 5The action is part of a broader FCA crackdown on the electronic-money institution sector
Why This Matters
The case highlights serious vulnerabilities in the fast-growing electronic-money and payments sector, where firms hold client funds and process large transaction volumes. For consumers and legitimate businesses, robust anti-money-laundering controls protect the integrity of the financial system. For the fintech and payments industry, the FCA's aggressive enforcement signals that regulators are willing to shut down firms with inadequate controls, raising compliance expectations across the sector.
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