Treasury Sanctions Former Olympian Snowboarder Turned ‘Cocaine Kingpin’

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned cocaine kingpin, now on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, along with nine associates and nine front companies spanning Mexico, Canada, Italy, and the UK.

Wedding sits on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list and is accused of operating a multi-ton cocaine trafficking operation that spanned worldwide and left a trail of murders with hired hits across the Americas. 

Treasury, the FBI, the DOJ, and Mexico’s financial intelligence unit coordinated sanctions targeting his criminal organization. 

According to the FBI, Wedding’s organization uses cryptocurrency to move and launder the proceeds of drug trafficking. 

OFAC claims:

• Wedding operates a Colombia-to-Mexico-to-U.S./Canada cocaine pipeline

• Launder millions using crypto, jewelry fronts, and luxury-vehicle holdings.

• Ordered numerous assassinations, including of U.S. citizens and a federal witness.

• Employs ex-law-enforcement operatives, high-end escorts, and corrupt professionals to locate targets, clean money, and hide assets.

Besides Wedding, OFAC also sanctioned:

• Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado (“the General”) – ex-Mexican law enforcement, provides armed protection, intel, and owns three Mexico-based fuel companies used as fronts.

• Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno – Wedding’s wife; money laundering and violence facilitator.

• Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez – runs a Mexico prostitution ring; assisted in a federal witness murder.

• Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias – Wedding’s Colombian girlfriend; collected money and gathered intel on rivals.

• Deepak Balwant Paradkar – Canadian attorney who arranged drug connections, bribery, and murder plans while violating attorney-client privilege.

Money-Laundering Network:

• Rolan Sokolovski – Canadian jeweler who moved millions through crypto and his “Diamond Tsar” storefront.

• Gianluca Tiepolo – ex-Italian special forces; managed luxury-vehicle assets, operated tactical-training camps used for hitmen, and ran multiple auto/motorcycle firms.

• Cristian Diana and John Anthony Fallon – executives involved in Tiepolo’s companies and linked to laundering entities.

All U.S.-linked assets belonging to Wedding and his associates have been frozen, and U.S. persons are prohibited from doing business with any of them, including any entities they own 50% or more of.

The Bureau’s Sam Cooper brought Wedding to our attention in early September, highlighting the “missed opportunities” Canada had to capture the former Olympian snowboarder turned cocaine kingpin.

Read Cooper’s report.