Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is facing major challenges in accessing €350 million, or approximately $383 million, in Bitcoin (BTC) seized from a former drug dealer.
The cryptocurrency is currently stored in 12 separate currencies governorIt has become a point of contention for the Irish agency, which has been unable to unlock the assets for more than five years since the initial seizure.
The confiscated bitcoin remains locked
According to local media ReportsBitcoin was seized from Clifton Collins, a 53-year-old former beekeeper from Dublin, who was involved in a “large-scale” cannabis smuggling operation. Collins managed to evade the attention of law enforcement for years, until a chance encounter led to his arrest in 2017.
During a routine patrol, police – as the country’s national police force is called – reportedly discovered a quantity of cannabis worth €2,000 in Collins’ car, sparking a wider investigation that revealed “large-scale drug growing operations” across several rented properties. .
Collins initially invested in Bitcoin during its early years, around 2011 and 2012, when its value was much lower. as Cryptocurrency As his popularity, adoption, and value rose, he chose to secure his growing wealth by distributing it across multiple virtual wallets.
Police allege Collins “meticulously” documented the digital keys required to access these wallets and stored the information in a fishing rod box at one of his rented properties in County Galway.
However, after his home was broken into, Collins claimed he never saw the case again, creating a barrier to accessing his significant bitcoin. Collectibles. The loss of this vital information has now left the office sitting on a digital fortune that it cannot unlock.
Clifton Collins was sentenced to five years in prison
From an initial value of €53 million at the time of seizure, the value of the seized assets has risen to €350 million, highlighting the increasing increase in the value of seized assets. Financial shares included.
Ultimately, the country’s authorities sentenced Collins to five years in prison and confiscated assets worth €1.2 million, including €1 million in Bitcoin to which he still had access codes.
In its latest annual report, the Irish Criminal Assets Office revealed that it returned €8.6 million to the Irish Treasury in 2023, the highest amount in 15 years, from a variety of cases, including those relating to… Digital assets.
At the time of writing, the largest cryptocurrency on the market was trading at $61,740, having lost its key support at $62,000 to prospects of a further price recovery as a result of a 1.4% decline in the 24-hour time frame.
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