The UK’s financial watchdog has charged a man with operating a network of cryptocurrency ATMs for the first time.
Olumide Osunkoya, 45, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 30 on charges of running multiple crypto ATMs without registering them with the regulator.
Crypto ATMs are machines where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies – which is digital money, such as bitcoin or ethereum – in exchange for cash.
But in the UK, they must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). None have currently been given registration.
The FCA accused Mr Osunkoya, a London resident, of running a network of machines which processed £2.6 million in crypto transactions between December 2021 and September 2023.
“If you’re using a crypto ATM, you are handing your money directly to criminals. Criminals can exploit crypto ATMs to launder money globally.”
The charges come amid renewed concerns around the use of services such as crypto ATMs following a resurgence in the value of tokens such as bitcoin.
The price of one bitcoin has doubled to over £43,600 in the last 12 months, up from £20,600 this time last year.
It comes after a trader accused of operating a single illegal cryptocurrency ATM became the first person in the UK to be charged with the offence, police have said.
Habibur Rahman, of East Ham, London, was charged with running an unregistered machine after police officers searched Gadcet shop in Chatham high street, Kent, in April 2023.
