Olumide Osunkoya, who is 45 and resides in London, pleaded guilty to five offences at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Sentencing will take place at a later date. The FCA filed charges against Osunkoya earlier this month for illegally operated a network of at least 11 crypto ATMs which processed more than £2.6 million in crypto transactions over a period of nearly two years. Osunkoya continued to operate and grow the network in local convenience shops across the UK despite being refused for registration with the FCA in 2021, says the watchdog. The court heard evidence that those likely committing money laundering or tax evasion were using his machines and that Osunkoya created a false alias to try and evade FCA rules. The regulator has been working with law enforcement to enforce a crackdown on the operations of crypto ATMs across the UK, shutting down 26 machines last year. This was after the watchdog ordered the closure of all crypto ATMS in operation across the UK. At the time, it was estimated that there were circa. 100 machines scattered across the country accepting cash for conversion to cryptoassets.