TechFlow News, January 24: According to a CoinDesk report, U.S. authorities arrested former Canadian skiing star Ryan Wedding on Friday. He is accused of using cryptocurrency networks to facilitate drug trafficking and money laundering. Wedding competed for Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
According to a statement by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Wedding is described as a “former Olympic skier turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin” and has been extradited back to the United States to face charges. Wedding had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, wanted for alleged cocaine trafficking and murder. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on social media that Wedding was apprehended in Mexico.
The FBI stated that Wedding is linked to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel and was sanctioned last November by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In its announcement, the Treasury Department noted: “His criminal organization uses cryptocurrency to transfer and launder proceeds from drug trafficking, concealing vast amounts of illicit wealth.”
The 44-year-old Wedding placed 24th at the 2002 Winter Olympics and won a silver medal at the previous year’s Junior World Championships.
