The metropolitan police in the U.K. have seized £114 million ($180 million) of Bitcoins. This related to an investigation into money laundering. The action was taken by the London area police force’s Economic Crime Command.
The police action represents that largest number of Bitcoins (and also by value) seized in the U.K. to date. The police were following up intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets, according to The Times.
The use of cryptocurrencies is a popular area for the criminal fraternity since the transactions undertaken provide greater anonymity for both senders and recipients. This is because the digital wallet addresses of those involved in transactions do not contain any identifiable details.
The use of a digital currency is also easier for criminals, in terms of storing money and with making fairly rapid transactions.
This follows on from a case earlier in 2021 when German prosecutors confiscated more than 50 million euros ($60 million) worth of Bitcoin from a fraudster. Based on the valuation at the time of the seizure, 1,700 Bitcoins were confiscated by law enforcement (the value of one Bitcoin is subject to a volatile market).
Looking at the incident for Digital Journal is Joshua Scigala, CEO of the TheStandard.io.
According to Scigala, the current set-up is ripe for criminal activity: “Right now, the vast majority of money laundering is done in fiat currency, because it’s anonymous.”
This means it is very likely that “cryptocurrency like bitcoin will be used more for financial crime in the future, but detection of those crimes will come back to good old fashioned police work rather than simply following the money.”
In terms of why this is the case, Scigala explains: “Blockchains are becoming more and more private to a point where following it will be impossible. This is actually a positive thing, because it’s dangerous that strangers can tell how much money you have; having no financial privacy leads to kidnappings and business competitors knowing someone’s sources and markups.”
In Scigala’s view “this is why financial transactions need to stay private. In the future, police forces will have to devote more resources to chasing these kind of crimes as tracing funds will become harder.”
