Key takeaways:
- Approximately 50,000 Bitcoin were reportedly seized by authorities in the German state of Saxony as part of an investigation into copyright breaches.
- According to officials, the accused freely moved the Bitcoin to official wallets that the police had provided, which is how the Bitcoin was taken.
Approximately 50,000 Bitcoin were reportedly seized by authorities in the German state of Saxony as part of an investigation into copyright breaches.
The Saxony police stated in a statement on January 30 that it worked with prosecutors and tax authorities to obtain the Bitcoin, which was purportedly linked to two citizens of Germany and Poland.
The authorities claim that the suspects used the earnings from online sales of unlicensed works in 2013 to buy the Bitcoin, which was valued at approximately $2.17 billion at the time of publishing.
According to officials, the accused freely moved the Bitcoin to official wallets that the police had provided, which is how the Bitcoin was taken. The authorities also mentioned:
“This means that a final decision has not yet been made about the utilization of the Bitcoin.”
Although the exact time of the Bitcoin purchases by the suspected criminals is unknown, the size of the seizure indicates that it might have been during a period of low cryptocurrency prices. According to Glassnode data, as of October 31, US authorities appeared to have taken possession of 210,429 BTC linked to several offenses.
German authorities sent 1,906 demands for information from the cryptocurrency exchange between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023, according to a Coinbase report from November 2023.
Binance withdrew its application for a cryptocurrency custody license in Germany prior to its $4.3 billion settlement with US authorities, raising suspicions about potential changes to the “global market and regulation.”
Cheongju, South Korea, regulators moved to take bitcoin holdings from residents who had avoided paying taxes. According to a Yonhap report from August 2023, the government of South Korea has ordered seven cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, to examine the assets of 8,520 individuals who owe at least 1 million won (about $748 USD) in local taxes.
