The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged Olumide Osunkoya, a 45-year-old Londoner, with operating a network of illegal cryptocurrency ATMs.
This marks the first time an individual has been charged in the U.K. for running such a network, the FCA announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Osunkoya is accused of facilitating approximately £2.6 million ($3.4 million) in crypto transactions through these ATMs between December 2021 and September 2023 without the necessary regulatory registration. He is scheduled to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 30.
The charges come on the heels of the arrest of another Londoner, Habibur Rahman, 37, who in August became the first person in the U.K. charged with operating a single illegal cryptocurrency ATM. Rahman allegedly laundered $392,557 in cash by converting it to crypto, according to a report by the BBC.
Currently, none of the 44 registered crypto companies in the U.K. hold the required authorization to operate crypto ATMs, making all such machines in the country illegal. The FCA has intensified its crackdown on illegal crypto ATMs, conducting 34 inspections by the end of 2023, following multiple raids in cities including Exeter, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
“Our message today is clear. If you’re illegally operating a crypto ATM, we will stop you,” said Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, in the release.
