The FBI has placed a $10 million bounty on Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned fugitive drug kingpin, who is accused of orchestrating a massive cocaine and fentanyl trafficking empire and using Tether (USDT) to launder illicit funds.
The U.S. Department of State confirmed the reward under its Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP), placing Wedding on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in a desperate bid to locate and capture him.
“Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada”
said Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Once an elite athlete representing Canada, Wedding now faces charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and orchestrating violent crimes, according to an indictment unsealed in October 2024.
Authorities allege that Wedding and his transnational criminal syndicate were responsible for:
- Smuggling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl into North America.
- Ordering assassinations to eliminate rivals and silence potential informants.
- Laundering drug proceeds through Tether (USDT) to evade financial tracking systems.
Alongside his co-conspirator, Andrew Clark, Wedding allegedly ordered the killings of multiple individuals, including a family in Ontario, Canada, in 2023.
Tether’s Role in Money Laundering Under Scrutiny
U.S. authorities claim Wedding leveraged Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market cap to launder drug money while bypassing traditional banking systems.
Tether and other stablecoins have long been viewed as a double-edged sword in financial markets offering fast, borderless transactions but also attracting criminal enterprises looking to move illicit funds outside the traditional banking sector.
This case highlights a growing concern among law enforcement agencies about how stablecoins are being used in international financial crimes, especially in drug trafficking and money laundering networks.
Wedding Believed to Be Hiding in Mexico
Authorities believe Wedding is currently hiding in Mexico, reportedly under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel. While Clark has already been arrested in Mexico, Wedding remains one of the most wanted fugitives in North America. If convicted, both men face a mandatory life sentence in federal prison for running a continuing criminal enterprise.
This case shows the increasing intersection of cryptocurrency and law enforcement efforts, as regulators and agencies tighten their grip on illicit financial flows. With stablecoin regulation on the rise, authorities will likely increase scrutiny on USDT transactions to curb money laundering, drug trafficking, and organized crime.
The $10 million bounty for Wedding’s capture is one of the largest rewards for a fugitive linked to crypto-fueled money laundering, signaling that governments are now prioritizing the fight against digital financial crime.
