The United States and United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly disrupt cryptocurrency investment fraud networks, coordinate investigations and share intelligence on organized crime operations. The agreement, signed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, and the UK National Crime Agency, is the first international cooperation pact specifically focused on scam centers involved in cryptocurrency investment fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes. The pact aims to determine which jurisdiction should handle cases where investigations overlap.
U.S. reported losses from cyber-enabled investment fraud surged 89 percent to $8.65 billion in 2025, according to data from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center cited by the Justice Department. The reported losses increased from $4.57 billion in 2023. The Justice Department warned that the figures may significantly underestimate the actual scale of the problem because many victims never report fraud.
The criminal networks often operate through fake cryptocurrency investment platforms that display fabricated account balances and returns to convince victims to send additional funds. Some operations are also linked to romance scams, in which fraudsters build relationships over weeks or months before introducing victims to fraudulent investment opportunities. The networks have also been associated with human trafficking and money laundering, with workers reportedly recruited with promises of lucrative jobs before being detained and forced to participate in fraudulent schemes.
The new agreement builds on existing enforcement efforts between U.S. and UK authorities. In May, the UK National Crime Agency participated in an operation led by the U.S. Scam Center Strike Force alongside authorities from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Thailand. The operation disrupted more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts, froze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency linked to stolen funds, and resulted in seven arrests in Thailand.
International efforts to disrupt the networks have expanded beyond the US and UK. Myanmar's parliament approved an anti-online scam bill in July that introduced tougher penalties for operating scam centers or participating in cryptocurrency-related fraud. INTERPOL-led operations running from November 2025 through June 2026 resulted in 58 arrests across 22 countries examining romance scams, fake cryptocurrency investments and business email fraud.
The Justice Department said coordinated enforcement actions had resulted in more than $700 million in cryptocurrency being restrained in connection with suspected scam-related money laundering. In a separate INTERPOL-led operation announced in July, authorities made 5,811 arrests across 97 countries and territories and intercepted $293 million in illicit assets.
