The US Department of the Treasury (DOJ) has issued charges against a former Olympic medalist accused of operating a global criminal organization using crypto. Ryan Wedding, dubbed a “Modern-Day Pablo Escobar,” has been accused of using crypto to support narcotrafficking, arms smuggling, and human trafficking across continents.
Ryan Wedding faces serious accusations for not only running a transnational drug trafficking network but also orchestrating multiple murders.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a press conference, “You do not get to be a drug kingpin and evade the law. Make no mistake about it: Ryan Wedding is the modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He is a modern-day iteration of El Chapo Guzmán. […] This inter-agency step is a huge, huge step towards obtaining justice for so many American lives lost… and so many American lives saved.”
The FBI increases the bounty in efforts to catch Wedding
The Canadian is now facing allegations of overseeing a transnational cocaine empire. According to reports, he used Tether’s USDT stablecoin to launder money and bypass traditional banking systems.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been on the hunt for the former Olympic athlete for over a year now. The agency even placed the man on its most wanted fugitives list for his alleged cocaine empire. The FBI believes that Wedding is extremely violent and has ordered dozens of murders using highly sophisticated methods.
To that end, the US Department of Justice seized more than $3.2 million in crypto, as well as one ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, and $255,400 as part of the investigation in late 2024.
This raised hopes that the affected individuals and entities would have all their US assets frozen by OFAC, with potential criminal penalties if they were broken.
The others who have been sanctioned include Wedding’s wife, Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno; Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado, who is said to guard the former Olympian; and Canadian jeweler Rolan Sokolovski, who is thought to have helped launder funds.
Sokolovski’s jewelry business in Toronto, called Diamond Tsar, was used to help launder Wedding’s illicit funds. According to the Treasury, Sokolovski is believed to have transferred millions of dollars in drug money using crypto to hide the money’s tracks.
John K. Hurley, under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated that the Treasury is joining with the FBI and the DOJ to weed out Wedding and his criminal partners from the US financial system and help dismantle the network they rely on.
He added, “Today we’re exposing the network of associates and enablers behind Ryan Wedding—one of the most notorious criminals and narcotraffickers still evading justice […] Our goal is simple: make it difficult for criminals like this to profit from poisoning our communities.”
Meanwhile, Wedding is believed to be currently hiding in Mexico, and the Treasury is coordinating with Mexican authorities to track him down.
In March, the FBI put a $10 million bounty for information that leads to the former Olympian’s arrest, although it apparently has yet to pay off. This bounty has now been upped to $15 million, alongside the added sanctions.
Treasury calls for stricter regulations to address crypto-related crimes
The US Treasury has emphasized the role of cryptocurrencies in facilitating anonymous illegal activities. This prompted renewed calls for stricter regulations and international collaboration to address crypto-related crimes.
Meanwhile, the US is not going easy on criminals. As reported by Cryptopolitan, a US court gave the co-founder of Samourai Wallet, William Hill, four years in prison, and his partner, Keonne Rodriguez, five years for running a crypto mixer that hid over $200 million in illegal money.
Additionally, the US DOJ, FBI, and Secret Service have created a new interagency task force to fight crypto scams and criminal organizations targeting Americans. US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro revealed the first Scam Center Strike Force in a public address broadcast on YouTube, promising to keep Americans safe from investment fraud operations
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