OFAC Sanctions Former Canadian Olympian and Network for Drug Trafficking
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Ryan James Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada, for being an "extremely violent criminal" believed to be responsible for the killing of people abroad and for involvement in drug trafficking and "other serious criminal activities." OFAC said Wedding is on the FBI's 10 most wanted list and is "hiding" in Mexico.
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The agency said Wedding, who competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, has trafficked multiple tons of cocaine through Colombia and Mexico for distribution in the U.S. and Canada, and his criminal organization uses cryptocurrency to move and launder the revenue. The FBI also said he had ordered "dozens of murders across the globe," including in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.
In addition, OFAC sanctioned several of his associates, including Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado, who it said provides protection for Wedding and runs Mexico-based companies VRG Energeticos S.A. de C.V., Grupo RVG Combustibles S.A. de C.V., and Grupo Ares Imperial S. de R.L. de C.V. Also sanctioned were Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez, Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias and Wedding's wife, Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno.
Others who were designated include Deepak Balwant Paradkar, a Canadian lawyer who has provided "illegal services" to Wedding and his drug trafficking organization "beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship," as well as Rolan Sokolovski and Gianluca Tiepolo for helping to launder money for Wedding and other people and companies supporting him.