Finance
UK sentences individual in first unregistered cryptoasset case
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 28, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 28, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
The UK has sentenced Olumide Osunkoya to four years for operating unregistered crypto ATMs, marking the first case of its kind. The FCA warns against illegal crypto activities.
(Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Friday a four-year prison sentence has been issued in the UK's first case involving unregistered cryptoasset activity.
London-based Olumide Osunkoya, 46, was found guilty of operating unregistered crypto ATMs for transactions worth 2.5 million pounds ($3.2 million) across several locations within the UK between December 2021 and March 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement.
"(This) sends a clear message: those who flout our rules, seek to evade detection and engage in criminal activity will face serious consequences," said Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA.
Osunkoya was also convicted and sentenced for forgery, using false identity documents, and possessing criminal property at the court hearing.
Financial watchdogs are clamping down on crypto ATM networks, which enable the purchase or conversion of money into cryptoassets. Germany's financial regulator said in August they had seized almost 250,000 euros in cash in a nationwide operation targeting cryptocurrency ATMs.
($1 = 0.7947 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
A four-year prison sentence was issued for operating unregistered crypto ATMs.
Olumide Osunkoya, a 46-year-old from London, was found guilty.
He was also convicted for forgery, using false identity documents, and possessing criminal property.
The financial watchdog stated that those who evade detection and engage in criminal activity will face serious consequences.
Financial watchdogs are clamping down on crypto ATM networks that enable the purchase or conversion of money into cryptoassets.
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