British police have confiscated close to £180 million — or $249 million — in cryptocurrency, the largest such seizure in the country’s history, CNN reported on Tuesday (July 13).
In fact, it might be one of the large confiscations in the world, London’s Metropolitan Police said, coming weeks after a similar seizure of £114 million ($158 million) last month.
“The seizures were made by the force’s economic crime command, after pursuing intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets,” the report noted. “The seizures formed part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering.”
It was not clear what type of cryptocurrency was involved.
One person has been arrested in connection with the case, police said, a 39-year-old woman questioned on suspicion of money laundering offenses. She has since been released on bail.
“Proceeds of crime are laundered in many different ways,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said in a statement. “While cash still remains king in the criminal world, as digital platforms develop, we’re increasingly seeing organized criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money.”
Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service — England’s and Wales’ chief criminal investigation agency — warned of an impending uptick in prosecutions involving cryptocurrency-related scams. “Whilst schemes using high investment returns have been used for decades, I think we will see increasing numbers,” Crown Prosecution Service Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill said at the time. “Cases coming in are in low numbers now, but my prediction is they will increase.”
Action Fraud, England’s fraud-reporting operation, recorded 5,581 crypto-related scams in 2020, a 57 percent rise over the prior year. Losses associated with these scams totaled $156 million.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials in America have expressed concerns about the use of cryptocurrency in ransomware attacks like the ones on the Colonial gas pipeline and the JBS meatpacking company.
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