UK Financial Conduct Authority: Olumide Osunkoya Sentenced To 4 Years For Illegally Operating Crypto ATM Network

Mr Osunkoya pleaded guilty on 30 September 2024 to 5 charges.

Between 30 December 2021 and 12 March 2022, Mr Osunkoya operated crypto ATMs at 28 different locations via his company, GidiPlus Ltd, despite being refused registration with the FCA. It is illegal to operate crypto ATMs in the UK without FCA registration.

Mr Osunkoya later transferred the machines from GidiPlus Ltd and personally operated a reduced network of up to 12 crypto ATMs under a false name and company to evade detection.

Mr Osunkoya failed to carry out the necessary checks to ensure that the ATMs were not being used by criminals to launder the proceeds of crime.

Mr Osunkoya was also convicted and sentenced for forgery, using false identity documents, and possessing criminal property.

At the hearing, the FCA requested the court initiate confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. These proceedings will look to recover any financial benefit Mr Osunkoya obtained as a result of his criminality.

Mr Osunkoya’s sentence is the first for unregistered cryptoasset activity in the UK. It follows the FCA’s operation, working in partnership with law enforcement agencies, to tackle illegal crypto ATMs across the country. In 2023, the FCA visited 38 locations and disrupted 30 machines. The number of crypto ATMs advertised on CoinATMRadar in the UK has fallen from more than 80 in 2022 to nil in 2024.

The FCA continues to warn people that if you buy crypto, you should be prepared to lose all your money. Crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK and is high risk.

In sentencing, His Honour Judge Perrins remarked: 

‘Your decision to continue to operate illegally was an act of deliberate and calculated defiance to the regulator... You knew full well that you were acting unlawfully... You went to great lengths to create a false identity to conceal your involvement... Your actions were deliberate and carefully planned... It cannot be said that it is a mere regulatory breach.’

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:

‘This is the UK’s first criminal sentencing for unregistered crypto activity and sends a clear message: those who flout our rules, seek to evade detection and engage in criminal activity will face serious consequences.’

Background

1. Mr Osunkoya’s date of birth is 7 February 1979.
2. The sentencing took place at Southwark Crown Court.
3. FCA charges first individual with running a network of illegal crypto ATMs.
4. Olumide Osunkoya pleads guilty to illegally operating crypto ATM network.
5. Mr Osunkoya has admitted guilt to 5 offences. The first 2 offences were operating a network of crypto ATMs without the required FCA permission, first as the director of GidiPlus Ltd and secondly as a sole trader. The third offence was committing forgery, where Mr Osunkoya created 4 bank statements in an effort to pass source of wealth checks with a cryptoasset exchange provider. The fourth offence was using a false instrument, namely false identity documents in the name of his alias to incorporate a company under the control of that alias. The final offence was possessing criminal property, £19,540 of cash which was obtained as a result of running the crypto ATM network.
6. Mr Osunkoya is understood to have made substantial profit from the operation, charging a typical markup on each transaction of between 30% and 60%.
7. GidiPlus Ltd applied for registration under the Money Laundering Regulations in 2020 and was refused in December 2021.
8. Crypto ATMs are machines that allow you to convert money into cryptoassets and/or cryptoassets into money.
9. The FCA has been the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) supervisor of UK cryptoasset businesses since 10 January 2020.
10. The FCA published a list of cryptoasset businesses that are operating without our registration.
11. Find out more information about the FCA.