The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has charged a crypto ATM operator lacking a license to operate in the country.
On September 10, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it had filed criminal charges against Olumide Osunkoya for managing and operating a network of unregistered crypto ATMs. Osunkoya has been charged with offenses such as money laundering, document forgery, and possession of assets derived from illegal activities.
Through a post on X, the official FCA account stated:
Details of the violations
According to the FCA, Osunkoya’s network of ATMs, operating through the company Gidiplus Limited, processed transactions worth £2.6 million between December 29, 2021, and September 8, 2023.
The charges against him include two violations of the money laundering law, two violations of the document forgery law, and one charge of possession of criminal property. Osunkoya is scheduled to appear in court on September 30.
FCA’s position
Therese Chambers, joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, stated:
“If you’re illegally operating a crypto ATM, we will stop you. […] If you’re using a crypto ATM, you are handing your money directly to criminals. Criminals can exploit crypto ATMs to launder money globally.”
For the FCA, there are currently no legally operating crypto ATMs in the UK. In November 2021, Gidiplus Limited applied for registration as a digital asset exchange provider to regularize its operations, but the application was rejected, and a subsequent appeal was denied.
In March 2022, the FCA ordered the closure of all unregistered crypto ATMs. Legal actions against such devices began in February 2023 and have continued to the present.
Other similar cases
Osunkoya is not the first to be charged with operating an illegal crypto ATM business. In April 2023, Habibur Rahman, an operator of a single crypto ATM, was arrested for a similar offense. Rahman is currently on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on October 10. He has been accused of operating an unregistered crypto ATM and laundering £300,000 of illicit proceeds.
