Lawyers for man accused in Ryan Wedding case argue he’s not a flight risk

By Canadian Press on January 21, 2026.

TORONTO — Lawyers for an Ontario man accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for an international drug smuggling ring are arguing in court today that he wouldn’t pose a flight risk if released on bail.

Scott Fenton says his client Rolan Sokolovski had two significant opportunities to flee as it became clear he was under investigation, but didn’t seek to evade capture or facing justice.

Court heard Sokolovski was detained by border officials in Chicago last April and questioned by U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents as well as Royal Canadian Mounted Police, then released that same day.

He was also turned away after landing in the Bahamas with his fiancée for a one-week vacation in early November, and the pair flew back to Canada together.

Sokolovski, a jeweller and former professional poker player, is seeking to be released ahead of his extradition hearing.

Sokolovski is one of eight Canadians arrested in November as part of an ongoing investigation targeting fugitive Ryan Wedding, a former Team Canada snowboarder now allegedly running a billion-dollar drug trafficking network.

U.S. authorities allege Sokolovski served as the “de facto bank” for the criminal enterprise, oversaw its bookkeeping and laundered drug money through his jewelry business, Diamond Tsar.

In a letter last month, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged the 37-year-old has “tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and physical assets at his disposal,” and poses a flight risk as well as a danger to the public.

Prosecutors in Toronto pressed Sokolovski on his finances last week, and questioned the four people proposing to supervise him if he is released on bail.

The identities of the proposed sureties are protected under a publication ban meant to reduce the risk to their safety.

Sokolovski’s legal team is proposing to have him live with three of his sureties if released on bail, and be placed on house arrest with round-the-clock GPS monitoring. Other conditions include remaining in Ontario, turning in his passport and not communicating with any of his co-accused.

Wedding, who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, was added to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list last year.

His organization is alleged to have transported hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Canada by way of Mexico and the U.S.

Wedding and his second-in-command are also accused of taking out hits on people they perceived as a threat to the organization’s operations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press