German prosecutors hire local banks to “clean up” seized cryptocurrency worth US$113 million – Featured Bitcoin News

German prosecutors hire local banks to “clean up” seized cryptocurrency worth US$113 million – Featured Bitcoin News

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German prosecutors hired a bank to “clean up” the cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases. “Because cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered’contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges,” the bank said.

Bank hired to clean up cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases

According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, it is reported that the anti-cybercrime department of the Attorney General of Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany has hired Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG to “clean up” approximately 100 million euros ($113 million) worth of cryptocurrency. The coins were seized in a criminal case involving three drug dealers.

The bank pointed out that the seized cryptocurrency will return to normal circulation after liquidation. The bank explained:

Since cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered “contaminated coins” and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges.

The publication stated that the cleaning procedures established by Bankhaus Scheich “ensure that trading partners are notified that currencies are legally owned again and declared as’clean’, allowing them to be sold”. However, the Frankfurt-based bank did not provide more details on the process.

Bankhaus Scheich pointed out that the seized cryptocurrency was sold during the week earlier this month. The proceeds will now be transferred to the state government budget.

Prosecutors and banks stated that they will cooperate in future criminal cases to put confiscated cryptocurrencies back on the market.

Some people on social media found the actions of the German government interesting. For example, the podcaster Joe Weisenthal wrote on Twitter:

Interestingly, the government is basically serving reverse money laundering for cryptocurrencies. They acquire tainted cryptocurrency (which was seized in a criminal case and therefore not traded on exchanges) and then washed it so that it can be freely traded on the market again.

What do you think of the German government’s hiring of banks to “clean up” seized cryptocurrencies? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

As an Austrian economics student, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection of economics and cryptography.




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