In a first for the UK, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has officially filed unprecedented criminal charges against a Londoner, Olumide Osunkoya, for operating an unauthorised Crypto ATM in the country.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the FCA said the accused was operating a Crypto ATM to facilitate transfer of funds for others. These machines, which were used to convert fiat money to crypto assets and vice versa, were not registered with the financial regulator.
While the FCA is yet to reveal whether the accused used the crypto ATMs to defraud investors, they confirmed that Mr. Olumide “processed £2.6m in crypto transactions across multiple locations between 29 December 2021 and 8 September 2023 without the required registration.”
This case is significant as it is the first criminal prosecution of its kind against an individual running a crypto ATM network in the country.
Explaining the nature of the charges, the FCA said: “The charges mark the FCA’s first criminal prosecution relating to unregistered cryptoasset activity under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs).”
Furthermore, Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, warned against using or operating unauthorised crypto ATMs.
“If you’re using a crypto ATM, you are handing your money directly to criminals. Criminals can exploit crypto ATMs to launder money globally,” she asserted.
UK FCA Says There Are No Legal Crypto ATMs
Interestingly, the criminal charges pressed against the accused for operating crypto ATMs in the country effectively mean you cannot use any crypto ATM in the UK. This is because the FCA has not authorised any crypto ATMs.
“There are no legal crypto ATM operators in the UK,” the FCA statement read.
Until last year, when the FCA came across such “Crypto ATM Networks,” they would shut down operations and confiscate the equipment. A Reuters report detailed how the FCA stopped crypto ATM machines from operating, but no criminal charges were filed against those using or running the network.
Now, it seems there has been a shift in the financial regulator’s policy, as crypto ATM operators can face criminal charges.
Recently, the financial watchdog has taken a stricter stance against crypto firms in its bid to minimise investor losses due to financial fraud. In a report published last week, the FCA confirmed that nearly 90% of crypto firms in the country failed to secure registration due to inadequate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
