Habibur Rahman, a trader from East Ham, London, has pleaded not guilty to charges of operating illegal crypto ATMs and laundering £300,000 ($391,551) by converting the funds into cryptocurrency.
According to police reports, Rahman, residing on Langdon Crescent, was charged with running a crypto ATM at his shop without the necessary registration from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In April 2023, law enforcement seized several illegal machines during a raid on his store in Chatham, Kent, including one that was publicly displayed.
A spokesperson for Kent Police noted that Rahman is the first individual in the UK to face such charges. The 37-year-old appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court and has had his case transferred to Maidstone Crown Court, with the next hearing set for November 7.
The allegations against Rahman not only involve violations of financial regulations but also money laundering activities. In a related case, the FCA recently sentenced Olumide Osunkoya for operating multiple unregistered crypto ATMs and producing false documentation. Osunkoya pleaded guilty to managing a network of at least 11 illegal crypto ATMs that processed over £2.6 million ($3.4 million) in transactions between December 2021 and September 2023.
The FCA stated that these charges represent its first criminal prosecution related to unregistered cryptoasset activity under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds regulations.
Since 2020, the FCA has mandated that crypto operators must register with the authority. To date, no crypto ATM operators have received approval to operate legally in the UK. An FCA spokesperson emphasized that registration is essential for anyone wishing to run a crypto ATM, regardless of the machine’s origin.
Operating an unregistered crypto ATM could result in a maximum sentence of two years in prison, a fine, or both. Additionally, the FCA inspected 34 locations with cryptocurrency ATMs between January and August 2023 to enforce compliance.
