The FCA has charged the first individual with running a network of illegal crypto ATMs.

The charges are the regulator's first criminal prosecution relating to unregistered crypto asset activity and are also the first charges brought against a person accused of running a network of crypto ATMs in the UK.

Crypto ATMs are machines that allow people to buy or convert money into crypto assets at a cash machine.

There are no legal crypto ATM operators in the UK. 

Olumide Osunkoya is accused of running crypto ATMs, which processed £2.6m in crypto transactions across multiple locations between 29 December 2021 and 8 September 2023 without the required FCA registration. He will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 30 September.

Mr Osunkoya first acted as a director of a company, Gidiplus Ltd, and later as a sole practitioner. He is being charged with two offences under Regulations 86 and 92 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs) for operating crypto ATMs without FCA registration.

He is also charged with two offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 relating to false documents created and used during the above activity, and an offence of possession of criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 relating to the suspected proceeds of his crypto ATM business.  

Regulation 92 of the MLRs states that where a body corporate, like GidiPlus Ltd, commits such an offence, an officer of that body corporate, such as a director of that body, is also guilty of the underlying offence where it was either committed with the consent or connivance of the officer, or is otherwise attributable to any neglect on the part of the officer.

Firms that want to provide cryptoasset services that come within the scope of the money laundering regulations must register with the FCA.

The charges follow the FCA’s recent operation, working in partnership with law enforcement agencies, to tackle illegally-operated crypto ATMs across the country. 

In 2023, the FCA visited and inspected 34 locations across the UK suspected of hosting crypto ATMs. This resulted in the FCA disrupting 26 machines operating unlawfully across the country. Most of the ATMs were located in local shops.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Our message today is clear. 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."

Only just over 1 in 10 (13%) cryptoasset authorisation applications were approved by the FCA in 2023-24, according to the regulator’s annual report.

Over 87% of crypto registrations were rejected, withdrawn or refused, with 44 firms now having money laundering registration, according to the regulator.