The City regulator brought its first criminal charge against an individual who was allegedly operating a network illegal cryptocurrency ATMs.
Olumide Osunkoya has been accused by the Financial Conduct Authority for operating illegally machines that processed £2.6 Million in crypto transactions between September 8th last year and the end of 2021.
The authority stated that these ATMs were not registered with the regulator and therefore violated money laundering and terrorist funding rules. Osunkoya (45), who lives in London is scheduled to appear before Westminster magistrates court on 30 September.
Crypto ATMs allow users to convert money into cryptocurrency and vice versa. They are linked to digital wallets rather than traditional bank account. The machines are being regulated by regulators around the world because they have concerns about money laundering, and other financial crimes.
In July of last year, the regulator announced that they had conducted an operation in conjunction with other law-enforcement agencies to inspect 34 locations and shut down 26 machines. The police in Kent announced last month that they had arrested a man in Kent for operating an unregistered machine, a UK first.
The FCA stated that there are no legal crypto kiosk operators operating in the UK. This implies that machines operated here are illegal. Therese chambers, the FCA’s joint executive director for enforcement and market supervision, stated: “Our message is clear today.” We will stop anyone illegally operating a cryptocurrency ATM. You are giving your money to criminals if you use a crypto-ATM. Criminals use crypto ATMs around the world to launder money.
Cryptocurrencies are entirely computer code, and they are not controlled or regulated by governments or central banks. Regulators have expressed concern that the digital asset market is like a Wild West, where criminals can use it for money laundering, fraud and scams.
Regulators are concerned about the safety of crypto-exchanges after blow-ups like the collapse of FTX in 2022, one of the largest exchanges in the world. Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced this year to 25 years of prison for fraud.
Authorities have increased their supervision of cryptomarkets, which are still largely unregulated. They have also warned consumers against the risks that they may face when they purchase digital currencies like bitcoin, whose prices can be volatile. The FCA has said for years that cryptoassets are worthless.
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