Around £ 114million of cryptocurrency has been seized by UK police as part of a money laundering investigation.
Metropolitan police said the confiscation was the largest of its kind in the UK and one of the largest in the world.
Last year, US authorities said they seized around $ 1 billion (£ 718 million) worth of Bitcoin connected to the darknet market, Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013.
The Met did not say which crypto-currencies they seized it, but revealed that the operation was carried out by their economic crime command team in connection with money laundering offenses.
Assistant Deputy Commissioner Graham McNulty said: “Every part of the Met is working to reduce violence on the streets of London as a top priority, including our financial investigators.
“There is an inherent link between money and violence. Violence is used to extort, blackmail, rob, control and exploit. It is used to protect criminal profits and maintain control over territory.
“Cash is still king, but as technology and online platforms develop, some are adopting more sophisticated methods of laundering their profits.
“But, we have highly trained officers and specialized units working day and night to stay ahead of the game.”
Detective Constable Joe Ryan said: “Criminals have to legitimize their money or it could be seized by law enforcement.
“The proceeds of crime are almost always laundered to hide the origin, but by disrupting the flow of funds before they are reinvested we can make London an incredibly difficult place for criminals to operate.”
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-24 17:59:00
