Record confiscation of Bitcoins worth almost $2.17 billion
German police conducted a record confiscation of 50 000 BTC worth $2.17 billion. As a result of the investigation, the cryptocurrency was seized from two men who were administrators of a pirate website called Movie2K and illegally distributed media content.
According to an official statement, the cryptocurrency assets were seized as part of a joint investigation conducted by the Dresden General Prosecutor's Office, the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, the Leipzig Tax Office and the FBI.
According to an official statement, the cryptocurrency assets were seized as part of a joint investigation conducted by the Dresden General Prosecutor's Office, the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, the Leipzig Tax Office and the FBI.
The owners of these assets were two persons: a 40-year-old German citizen and a 37-year-old Polish citizen. In early 2013, they launched an online platform on which they distributed unlicensed digital content, violating copyrights. The suspects decided to invest the proceeds in Bitcoin, hoping to increase their capital.
According to information provided by the police, one of the suspects voluntarily transferred his cryptocurrency assets to wallets controlled by the German Federal Criminal Police Office. Other details of the case have not been released by law enforcement. Police representatives noted that a detailed report on the incident will be published after the investigation is completed, which means seizures may continue.
This is the second time that police have seized Bitcoins as part of an investigation related to the Movie2K resource. Previously, the programmer who worked on this resource agreed to transfer $27 million in cryptocurrency to the police.
According to information provided by the police, one of the suspects voluntarily transferred his cryptocurrency assets to wallets controlled by the German Federal Criminal Police Office. Other details of the case have not been released by law enforcement. Police representatives noted that a detailed report on the incident will be published after the investigation is completed, which means seizures may continue.
This is the second time that police have seized Bitcoins as part of an investigation related to the Movie2K resource. Previously, the programmer who worked on this resource agreed to transfer $27 million in cryptocurrency to the police.
Lessons on making money from cryptocurrencies from the German government.
Many regulators are considering the sale of seized cryptocurrency assets as a legitimate measure. For example, the US Department of Justice intends to sell 2,934 BTC that were confiscated when the Silk Road darknet site was closed. The South Korean prosecutor's office already has such experience - they successfully sold Bitcoins seized several years ago, and for an amount 45 times higher than their original value!
It is worth noting that it is possible that all funds received by the detainees may be marked as high-risk. This is how quickly and easily you can go from a thrifty person who loves cinema to a “criminal” involved in money laundering.
To prevent this from happening, you must check the transaction or check the crypto wallet where you are sending the funds. You can check a Bitcoin wallet like the heroes of this article using our online AML check service - Btrace.
To prevent this from happening, you must check the transaction or check the crypto wallet where you are sending the funds. You can check a Bitcoin wallet like the heroes of this article using our online AML check service - Btrace.
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