Exciting news for those impacted by crypto crime: the City of London Police has launched a civil asset recovery program! They are working hand-in-hand with the legal firm Gowling WLG, building on the success of a pilot program that recovered assets for an elderly person victimized in a £2 million cryptocurrency fraud.

This new initiative is all about teamwork, bringing together the police, victims, and their legal representatives to streamline the process of getting back what’s been lost.

Importantly, this recovery program will step in even when criminal prosecution isn’t possible. This offers a real lifeline for fraud victims—including those caught up in crypto scams—giving them a chance to reclaim some of their stolen funds through civil action.

Bríd Holden, a Director at Gowling, shared the enthusiasm in a press release, stating, “Following a successful pilot, we’re delighted to collaborate with the City of London Police on this program. We’re dedicated to investigating these frauds and helping victims recover their lost money.”

Considering that crypto scams worldwide amounted to a staggering $9.9 billion in 2024 alone, Holden emphasized the broader impact of this partnership. She hopes that their work with the City of London Police will “shift the current situation and encourage more victims to come forward and report fraud, ultimately increasing awareness about these issues.”

The London Police echo this sentiment. Detective Chief Inspector Craig Mullish highlighted in the same release that the financial losses from fraud can have a “lasting effect” on victims, making asset recovery crucial.

Police research indicates that even pursuing civil asset recovery can be a valuable tool in the fight against organized crime, helping to protect the UK from fraud and related offenses.

And when it comes to crypto fraud specifically, successful asset recovery cases are becoming increasingly frequent.

Just last week, UK police, collaborating with law firms, managed to recover over £520,000 (roughly $670,000) in crypto that was stolen from an 80-year-old man.

In that particular instance, the police leveraged a recent update to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which empowers them to freeze illicit digital assets.

This enhanced legal power could pave the way for even more collaborations between UK police and legal experts. Previously, retrieving stolen cryptocurrencies without the support of specialized organizations hasn’t always been successful.

For example, last September saw a UK legal case filed against Wealth Recovery Solicitors. A victim of a significant £635,000 crypto fraud (around $818,000) is accusing them of negligence for failing to recover their stolen funds.

Wealth Recovery Solicitors reportedly lacked the necessary expertise to trace the complex movements of the defrauded crypto and manage the ensuing legal battle. In one instance, they even applied for a global freezing order against Blockchain.com simply because transaction details related to the stolen Bitcoin address were publicly visible on their website.

The case against Wealth Recovery Solicitors is being handled by Ashley Fairbrother of Edmonds Marshall McMahon, the same firm that played a key role in the recent £520,000 crypto recovery.

Speaking with Decrypt, Fairbrother expressed his positive view of the “important partnership” between the City of London Police and private legal firms. He considers it a vital step in tackling the “widespread fraud problem” facing countries like the UK.

“It’s only through initiatives like this and strong collaboration that we can realistically hope to address the escalating scale of fraud,” he stated. “And it’s precisely these kinds of partnerships that we urgently need to develop between every police force and specialist private sector law firms to effectively combat the complex and rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency fraud in this country.”

Fairbrother also acknowledged the government’s role in “setting the stage” for such initiatives with the addition of Section 303Z51 to the Proceeds of Crime Act. However, he stressed the importance of police forces actively taking the lead in establishing these partnerships.

“By doing so, we give the UK a fighting chance in the ongoing battle against fraud,” he concluded, “making sure victims aren’t left to shoulder the financial burden alone and helping us dismantle the criminal networks behind these crimes by seizing their stolen digital assets.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward