Financial Times reports that UK officials are considering whether they should retain the billions in Bitcoin gains tied to an extensive fraud case rather than distribute the current full value of the Bitcoin to the victims.
Financial Times, Thursday. reportThe UK High Court can decide to only reimburse the investment’s original value, approximately 640 millions British pounds (862 million dollars), victims of the scam. This is in spite of the 61,000 Bitcoins (BTCThe value of the, at time of publication was $7.24billion. There is an overage of $6.4 billion.
You can also find out more about the following: Bitcoin In 2018, scammers in North London defrauded 128,000 Chinese investors. Treasury officials debated privately whether the windfall might help reduce a deficit as high as 40,5 billion pounds. Under existing rulesAssets seized by the proceeds of crime act are generally paid to the Treasury Consolidated Fund or Home Office, and a court may order compensation if necessary.
According to The FT, other officials in the government have also urged caution because such a move could lead to a long-lasting and complex legal dispute over Bitcoin profits. Treasury was instructed to not use these funds when calculating its budget.
Related: US DOJ files to seize $225M in crypto tied to pig butchering schemes
Largest crypto seizure in history
These assets were confiscated from Chinese Zhimin Qian as well as her Malaysian employee, Seng Hok Ling. Both pleaded to guilt earlier in the week. Police in the area announced Then it was “made what is believed to be the single largest cryptocurrency seizure in the world.”
The money laundering investigation of the London Metropolitan Police Economic Crime team lasted seven years. Qian and Ling both pleaded guilt to possession of criminal goods, as well as acquiring them.
Qian was responsible for a massive fraud scam in China between 2014-2017, where she stole assets from 128,000 people. They were then stored as Bitcoins after she entered the United Kingdom using fake documents.
Qian, in September 2018, attempted to wash the money by purchasing property. In April 2024, the police arrested her and seized gold, cryptocurrency, encrypted devices and cash after they surveilled Ling.
Related: Germany seizes $38M in crypto from Bybit hack-linked eXch exchange
Crypto seizures continue to increase
Canadian police have been busy this past month. seized $40 million in crypto from TradeOgreThe supporters of the exchange have criticised the exchange for being heavy-handed because it lacks Know Your Customer checks.
Mid-August is when the US Justice Department releases its annual report. authorized the seizure of more than $2.8 million in cryptocurrencyAs part of the criminal case brought against a alleged ransomware attacker, seized assets include cash, gold, and jewelry. Bloomberg reported in early July that the US Secret Service was investigating ransomware. seized nearly $400 million in digital assets over the past decade.
The Justice Minister of Sweden also called upon local authorities to focus on crackdowns that could yield larger seizures of assetsIncluded in this is cryptocurrency.
Coinbase, a US-based crypto exchange, announced in June that it had helped to launch the cryptocurrency. US Secret Service seize $225 million in crypto allegedly stolen by scammersThe largest cryptocurrency seizure by the agency to date.
Magazine: Thailand’s ‘Big Secret’ crypto hack, Chinese developer’s RWA tokens: Asia Express
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Source: cointelegraph.com
