TL;DR Breakdown
- UK authorities seize $190m crypto
- When South Korea confiscated $47m crypto
The United Kingdom authority have made another history in the crypto world by conducting the largest crypto seizure in the country. It marks as one of the largest confiscations the world has ever seen.
After an investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime Command, the funds were discovered to be proceeds of money laundering hence put up for seizure. The crypto amounts to $190 million.
Per a press release from the authorities, they acknowledged that the seizure is the largest crypto seizure in the country and one of the largest in the world.
Although the investigation into the case is still on, officers have failed to provide details on the illegal operation or give up the identity of the perpetrators.
Joe Ryan, Detective Constable, warned that bad actors need to legitimize their money. He notes that if they don’t, they “risk being seized by law enforcement.”
Despite the privacy level of cryptocurrencies, he said he would ensure that the UK is made a difficult place for criminals to operate.
Another detective, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty, said that cash is still mostly used for illegal operations. Nevertheless, he claims that proliferation in technology helps some criminals move to more sophisticated methods of laundering their profits.
Another mega crypto seizure in Korea
Days back, South Korean authorities had to deal with a mega crypto seizure also when they seized over US$47 million in crypto from 12,000 people accused of tax evasion, the Financial Times reported.
The seizures are part of a months-long probe, which according to officials, is the largest “cryptocurrency seizure for back taxes in Korean history.”
Authorities disclosed that Local exchanges that did not collect resident registration numbers of account holders were used to conceal assets. They then used mobile phone numbers to track down the alleged tax evaders. They included a “renowned home-shopping channel show host” who owed over $17,000 in tax and held $440,000 worth of crypto.
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