A jeweller from the Toronto area accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug-smuggling operation has agreed to extradition to the U.S. to face trial. Rolan Sokolovski’s attorney maintains his client’s innocence and plans to challenge the charges against him. Sokolovski’s lawyer, Scott K. Fenton, confirmed that Sokolovski appeared in a Toronto court and consented to early extradition, despite still being scheduled for a hearing in December.
Sokolovski, a Lithuanian-born individual, is accused by U.S. prosecutors of acting as a financial hub for Wedding by handling drug money and acquiring luxury items for the fugitive, including a rare $13 million Mercedes CLK-GTR Roadster. Sokolovski, 38, was apprehended in Toronto last November as part of a joint operation by the FBI and RCMP targeting Wedding’s network. He has been incarcerated at Ontario’s Maplehurst jail after being denied bail.
Court documents reveal that Sokolovski, using the aliases Sushi and Applepie, allegedly utilized cryptocurrency platforms and his business, Diamond Tsar, in the Toronto area to launder funds for Wedding’s criminal enterprise. Facing conspiracy charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering, Sokolovski is set to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Additionally, Sokolovski is accused of designing a jewel-encrusted necklace for Atna Ohna, an alleged Montreal-based hitman associated with Wedding’s network, as a reward for his role in the murder of an FBI informant. Fenton reiterated that Sokolovski maintains his innocence and plans to contest the allegations in the U.S. courts.
The final decision on Sokolovski’s extradition to U.S. authorities rests with the federal justice minister. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted numerous individuals linked to Wedding’s drug ring since 2024, which is said to have trafficked large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl across North America while carrying out multiple homicides.
Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, was captured in Mexico earlier this year and transferred to California. Although Wedding is in U.S. custody, his current location is undisclosed in public prison records. Among the individuals arrested in Ontario as part of the investigation known as “Operation Giant Slalom,” Sokolovski is the first to consent to extradition. Gursewak Singh Bal, a Canadian crime blogger implicated in the conspiracy, is scheduled for an extradition hearing in December.
Singh Bal allegedly ran the Dirty News website, which authorities claim facilitated the murder of an FBI witness. Deepak Paradkar, a prominent criminal lawyer accused of involvement in Wedding’s network, is contesting extradition despite prosecutors alleging his acceptance of illicit payments. Wedding is expected to face two separate trials later this year in Los Angeles for charges filed during his time as a fugitive from Thunder Bay, Ontario. The first trial is slated to commence on October 27.