German police have announced that they have made the largest cryptocurrency seizure in their history. It must be said that wallets containing the equivalent of two billion euros are not really commonplace.
Law enforcement in the German state of Saxony issued a press release on January 30, announcing a barely believable seizure of Bitcoins: more than 50,000 in all, accumulated more than 10 years ago when they were worth only a fraction of their current price. It is a piracy site, very popular in Germany before its closure, which had made it possible to amass the tremendous amount.
No less than 50,000 bitcoins seized
The price of bitcoin is certainly no longer what it used to be, but at almost 40,000 euros, you only need to grab a few to already be talking about a considerable sum. It is therefore not surprising that, with this seizure of 50,000 bitcoins, or two billion euros, the German police have made the biggest seizure in their history here.
This seizure is the result of an investigation carried out by the Dresden public prosecutor’s office, within the framework of which one of the accused persons agreed to collaborate with the police. It was therefore this person who transferred the amount from his personal wallet to “administrative” wallets operated directly by the German federal police. We do not know more about this accused, but it is probable that, to part with such a sum, there is some evidence against him.
A nest egg that has been lying dormant for over 10 years
If you are wondering which criminal enterprise could have generated such sums, the reality here is a little disappointing: it has been more than ten years since these bitcoins were amassed, namely in 2013, which is the year in which this crypto- currency reached, for the first time… 1,000 dollars. And these Bitcoins would have been acquired thanks to an illegal download site, the most popular in Germany before its closure in 2013. It was on the wallet of one of the two founders of the site that the sum had been lying dormant since.
The press release explains that these bitcoins were used as payment for “works protected by copyright” and not to buy a Ferrari, as one might have thought. With hindsight, these files will have cost those who bought them infinitely more than if they had paid for them in euros…
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Source : Golem, Corner Journal
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