BTC ATM fraudster charged with laundering $2.6M faces 5 years in UK jail

A 22-year-old man in Kent was recently sentenced to five years and nine months jail term on money laundering charges. Bazyli Rymarz reportedly laundered about £2 million ($2.6 million) by defrauding victims using BTC ATMs, according to law enforcement authorities.

In January 2020, Rymarz was arrested at the port of Dover with a Bentley Bentayga worth about £130,000 ($172,000) and €6,500 ($7,300 cash) inside a bag. Rymarz was found guilty of laundering about £2 million ($2.6 million) between September 2018 and January 2020 on behalf of criminal associates who used a network of digital currency ATMs as part of a fraud scheme, authorities said.

The group operates by convincing victims they owe the British authorities, and they are lured into paying the funds with digital currency ATMs.

According to a press release by Kent Police: ​”No evidence was found that Rymarz was personally involved in these frauds, but investigations showed the extent of his involvement in the group which laundered the criminal money.” 

Rymarz has also been linked to a U.K. registered entity, Wedso Ltd, although this entity wasn’t registered for VAT and hadn’t paid any corporation tax.

Rymarz has been in and out of police custody over the years. In March 2019, at Luton Airport, he was caught with £10,500 ($14,000) cash. Similarly, in October 2019, £38,000 ($50,600) and €13,600 ($15,300) money were found in Rymarz’s car when he was arrested for speeding.

Following his arrest in Dover, £5,400 ($7,100) and €8,200 ($9,200) in cash were found in his Watford home.

FBI on Bitcoin ATM Scam

Digital currency ATMs are mostly located in convenience stores owned by private companies, allowing customers to buy BTC and other digital assets using cash easily. Then funds are deposited in the customer’s digital asset wallet.

Criminals have recently capitalized on scamming people with digital currency ATMs, using convenient, largely anonymous transactions for money laundering, drug trafficking, and fraud.

In November, the FBI warned the public of fraudulent schemes leveraging digital asset ATMs and Quick Response (QR) codes to facilitate payment. They have noted increased scams linked with victims convinced to use physical digital asset ATMs and digital QR codes to complete payment transactions.

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