Ellie Horvath
A supercar rental company in London has come under fire for agreeing to accept cryptocurrency payments which could be taken from criminal proceeds.
ClassicParade.co.uk which is based in Sloane Street in Chelsea, rents prestige cars by the day and they offer brands including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz and Bentley.
From September this year they have started to accept cryptocurrency for rentals and this has caused controversy because campaigners feel this will give an outlet for criminals to spend their ill-gotten gains.
Several outraged anti-crime activists have taken to social media to say that this option will offer ways for criminals on the dark web to use and launder the proceeds from crime, and they have called for such payments to be banned.
One such campaigner stated on twitter: “So now criminals can now use their dirty money from the proceeds of crime to drive around in a rented supercar. ClassicParade.co.uk are now accepting crypto payments which will allow criminals on the dark web to launder their money freely, this MUST be banned!”
Classic Parade is one of the leading supercar hire companies in the UK and has been renting prestige cars by the day since 2016 and has glowing reviews on Trust Pilot and Google, but their recent decision to accept cryptocurrency has started a storm of protest on twitter and other social media.
The company run by British entrepreneur Andrew Brown is currently offering an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster for £700-a-day or 0.036 Bitcoin, a Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo for £2,500 or 0.14 Bitcoin, or a Ferrari F8 Tributo for £1,500 or 0.086 Bitcoin.
Andrew Brown stated: “There is nothing illegal in accepting crypto-currency payments for renting cars, it’s just that we are the first to accept these kinds of payments and because it’s something new it’s raised a lot of unnecessary negative comments online which are totally unjustified.
‘We will have procedures in place to verify customers’ identity, like any other car rental business and we make sure that all drivers have a valid license and the cars are all fully insured.”
