A Londoner has been charged with running a nationwide network of crypto ATMs, marking the first time that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulator has done so.
An FCA statement published today stated that 45 year-old Olumide Osunkoy has been charged under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs) with operating a crypto ATM network.
The FCA alleges that Osunkoya’s network processed £2.6m in crypto transactions between 29 December 2021 and September 2023. Crypto ATMs, as the name suggests, can be used by individuals to purchase or convert money into cryptocurrency using a debit or credit card.
Crypto ATMs are not permitted in the UK, with the FCA having been clamping down on these operations over recent years. Firms which deal in crypto in general, whether operating as ATM networks or not, need to register with the FCA as crypto asset providers.
“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.
“If you’re using a crypto ATM, you are handing your money directly to criminals. Criminals can exploit crypto ATMs to launder money globally.”
Osunkoy is the first individual in the UK to be charged with running a crypto ATM network but is not the first to be charged with running a crypto ATM in general. The first such charge came against the owner of an electronics store in Chatham, Kent, in summer 2023.
Regardless, the charge shows that concerns around cryptocurrency’s potential for criminal activity in the UK are not going anywhere. Regulators and law enforcement are largely concerned with how crypto can be used to finance criminal activities or facilitate money laundering.
For the most part, crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK. Also, as the UK is outside of the European Union (EU) it will not feel the full impact of the MiCA regulations around blockchain and crypto coming into effect later this year.
Under Rishi Sunak, the UK government expressed an interest in seeing Britain become a ‘hub’ for digital finance, including scope for digital assets. The new Labour government did not mention crypto in its manifesto, and as a result the industry is currently unsure about what direction future government policy in crypto could take.
