UK sentences individual in first unregistered cryptoasset case
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FILE PHOTO: Signage for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Britain's financial regulatory body, is seen at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
(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)
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