The owner of a high street mobile phone shop has become the first person in the UK to be charged with operating an illegal cryptocurrency ATM.
On Friday 28th April 2023 Kent Police officers carried out a search warrant at the Gadcet shop in High Street, Chatham, where they seized a number of crypto ATMs including one that was on public display.
Habibur Rahman, 37, of Langdon Crescent in East Ham, London, was arrested the same day and has now been charged with operating the machine without registration from the Financial Conduct Authority.
He is also alleged to have laundered £300,000 of criminal cash by converting it into cryptocurrency.
Crypto ATMs are machines which allow customers to buy or convert funds into cryptoassets, but the FCA has previously warned they can be used to launder illegally obtained cash.
Mr Rahman has been bailed to attend Medway Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 10th October 2024.
crypto remains largely unregulated and high risk
Matthew Long, Director of Payments and Digital Assets for the FCA, said ‘There are currently no crypto ATMs registered with the FCA – so if you’re using one of these machines you could be handing your money to criminals. The FCA works with law enforcement partners like Kent Police to protect consumers and maintain the integrity of our financial markets’.
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