On Thursday, the U.K. Metropolitan Police force announced British detectives were able to seize around £114 million ($158 million, more or less) worth of cryptocurrency as part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation.
This is so far the largest ever seizure of crypto assets in the United Kingdom and is considered to be one of the largest in the world.
While opting to not reveal what cryptocurrencies were confiscated during the operation, the police force said the seizure was carried out by detectives from its Economic Crime Command after receiving information about the transfer of the criminal assets.
Criminals moving up in the world
Detective Constable Joe Ryan said, “Criminals must hide the origin of ill-gotten money or else risk it being taken by law enforcement.” He added this is what money laundering looks like.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty on the other hand opined that while “cash remains king,” advances in current technology made some criminals move to more sophisticated methods to launder money such as using cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, regulators from all over the world have been motivated to improve their scrutiny of digital assets by the risks of related financial crimes. This, in turn, serves as an obstacle to the mainstream adoption of digital currencies despite the growing demand.
Not the first crypto-related crime
While the total sum of the crypto assets seized is relatively large, this is not the first time cryptocurrencies were involved in criminal activities in the United Kingdom.
Back in May, the British Police were surprised to find a bitcoin farm when they raided a warehouse that was situated near Birmingham. Authorities were expecting to find a cannabis farm.
Instead, they found a crypto mining facility that was siphoning electricity from the grid. This process made the farm throw off a lot of heat, which is usually an indicative sign of the presence of a cannabis farm.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube
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Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/u-k-police-seize-158-million-worth-of-crypto-assets/
