Europol Takes Over IDR 287 Billion Crypto Wallet Related to Bitzlato's Prohibited Activities
JAKARTA - The European Union Law Enforcement Cooperation Agency, or Europol, has reported authorities seized crypto wallets containing more than 19 million US dollars (IDR 287 billion) in cryptocurrencies as part of a law enforcement action against crypto company, Bitzlato.
In a January 23 announcement, Europol reported that around 46% of assets of around 1 billion euros (IDR 16.3 trillion) at the time of publication had been transferred through Bitzlato in relation to prohibited activities. The government agency's analysis shows that Bitzlato received more than 2.1 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dash, Dogecoin, much of which was converted into Russian rubles.
“While the conversion of crypto assets into fiat currency is not illegal, investigations into cyber criminal operators show that a large number of criminal assets pass through the platforms,” Europol said, quoted by Cointelegraph.
“The majority of suspicious transactions are related to entities sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), while others are related to cyber fraud, money laundering, ransomware and child abuse material,” added Europol.
As part of the actions of an enforcement team focused on cryptocurrencies, US authorities announced on January 18 that they had arrested Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov in Florida.
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Europol also added that the operation, which involved the support of institutions in Belgium, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, resulted in the arrest of 4 other people related to crypto exchanges, 1 in Cyprus and 3 in Spain.
In addition to the arrests, Europol reported authorities had seized wallets worth around 18 million euros ($2.9 million) and froze more than 100 accounts on other crypto exchanges that controlled 50 million euros. U.S. authorities was also involved in an attempt to seize Bitzlato's servers for allegedly being a "major money laundering problem" related to illegal Russian finance.
Legkodymov was reportedly tried in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on January 18 following his arrest. It is unclear what charges, if any, his European counterparts at Bitzlato may face.