Jai Sahu
The former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Philip Hammond, has refuted claims that he was involved in unauthorized lobbying activities for the cryptocurrency company Copper.
Currently, he is the chairman of Copper, a crypto firm based in Switzerland.
His tenure at the company began in January of the previous year, initially serving as an advisor in August 2021, before becoming a Senior Advisor in October of the same year.
According to UK regulations, Hammond was required to seek guidance from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before accepting employment in the private sector during the two years following his departure as UK Finance Minister in July 2019.
Acoba also prohibits former ministers from lobbying their past departments during this timeframe.
Although Hammond’s formal roles at Copper do not fall within this restricted period, some of his actions are now being examined for occurring within it.
A Financial Times investigation, prompted by a request for information, revealed that Hammond facilitated a meeting between Copper CEO Dimitry Tokarev and officials from the UK Treasury in March 2021. This meeting was arranged after John Glen, the economic secretary at the time, had indicated that Hammond would serve as a go-between.
Hammond communicated to Glen that Tokarev was very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. A follow-up call was arranged between Hammond and Glen a week later.
Hammond firmly rejected the FT’s suggestion that his efforts on Copper’s behalf were lobbying. He also stated he did not persuade Glen to arrange a meeting with Copper.
Britain’s Stance on Crypto Regulation
The UK has been more open to crypto companies compared to the US, yet it still trails behind regions like the EU, Canada, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi in providing clear guidelines for what these companies can and cannot do.
In the previous year, the UK government announced its intention to regulate cryptocurrencies under the existing financial regulatory framework.
This plan mandates that crypto exchanges serving or targeting UK customers must obtain approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
However, the plan does not extend to regulating DeFi. Based on feedback from the consultation phase, the UK Treasury believes that regulating DeFi at this stage would be both premature and ineffective. The government prefers to contribute to international efforts to create guidelines that could later inform domestic policy.
Charles Randell, former chair of the FCA, critiqued the approach of regulating crypto under current policies, noting the unique challenges and risks it presents, and advocating for tailored legislation.
Randell also disclosed in January that the FCA faced “political pressure” to integrate crypto firms into the UK market, especially in light of regulatory actions taken against them in the US.
The HM Treasury has tentatively planned to introduce specific secondary legislation related to crypto later this year.