The Insolvency Service has appointed its first dedicated crypto
intelligence specialist to help recover more money for the UK
economy from bankruptcy cases.
Former police investigator Andrew Small will help track digital
assets in criminal cases and provide the agency with detailed
knowledge of the crypto market.
The Insolvency Service is responsible for tracing and recovering
money and assets belonging to bankrupt individuals or liquidated
companies in insolvency proceedings.
In the past five years, the number of insolvency cases involving
crypto as a recoverable asset has risen by 420%, with 59 cases in
2024/25 compared to 14 in 2019/20.
At the same time, the estimated value of cryptoassets identified
in insolvency cases has risen by 364 times – from just over
£1,400 in 2019/20 to more than £520,000 in 2024/25.
Andrew said:
There has been a rapid rise in crypto ownership in the UK, and
alongside that, we've seen a similar rise in cryptoasset
ownership in bankruptcy cases.
The Insolvency Service has a duty to trace and recover money and
assets from individuals or companies in insolvency cases, and we
work to return as much money owed to creditors as possible.
Crypto is very much a recoverable asset, and my role will help
the agency by providing specialist knowledge about the types of
cryptoassets available and the associated technology used to buy,
sell and store them.
Cryptoassets have soared in popularity in recent years, with 2024
research by the Financial Conduct Authority finding seven million
adults in the UK - 12% of the population - held some form of
crypto, up from 3.2m adults (4.4% of the population) in
2021.
This includes ‘cryptocurrency' coins such as Bitcoin, Litecoin,
DOGE and Ethereum, as well as online tokens and NFTs –
non-fungible tokens – which offer digital ownership of online
artworks.
The Official Receiver Service, a key part of the Insolvency
Service, identified £523,580 of cryptoassets across 59 insolvency
cases in 2024/25, compared to just £1,436 of crypto across 14
cases in 2019/20.
The new cryptoasset intelligence role is based within the
Insolvency Service's Investigation and Enforcement Services team,
meaning Andrew will primarily focus on cryptoasset ownership in
criminal cases.
Neil Freebury, head of intelligence at the Insolvency Service,
said:
Crypto is growing in popularity, and we've seen the number of
insolvency cases involving cryptoasset ownership rise four-fold
in the past five years.
Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge to this role, along with his
previous experience as an economic crime investigator within the
police, and his appointment will help our investigators dealing
with cases where cryptoasset ownership is a factor.
Further information
-
The latest Insolvency Service statistics are published on
GOV.UK: Insolvency Service
Official Statistics - GOV.UK
-
Official Receivers are appointed by the court following
bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings. They have a legal duty
to trace and recover assets involved in such cases to return
as much money as possible to creditors.
-
The latest FCA research on cryptoassets in the UK can be
found on the FCA
website.
