2024-01-30 18:00:53
© Reuters. Physical representations of bitcoins are seen in this illustrative photo 10/24/2023 REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrative photo
(Reuters) – German police confiscated 50,000 bitcoins worth $2.17 billion in the “widest” cryptocurrency seizure ever carried out in the country, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This is the most extensive seizure of bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date,” said police in the city of Dresden.
The investigation was supported by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the FBI and a Munich-based IT forensics company, it said.
Police said ongoing money laundering investigations are directed against two suspects who ran a German piracy website until 2013.
The bitcoins were seized after the suspects voluntarily transferred them to official wallets provided by the BKA, he added.
(Reportagem de Bartosz Dabrowski)
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