Dutch Police Confiscates $33 Million In BTC From Couple Involved In Money Laundering
Dutch police have announced that it has seized bitcoin worth about $33 million from a couple accused of laundering money.
According to the regulatory authority, about 2,532 Bitcoins were seized from the couple after the Rotterdam District Court found them guilty of money laundering. Evidence submitted by police showed that the Bitcoin address belonging to the couple was discovered to be involved in an activity on the dark web.
The couples involved have been sentenced to two years imprisonment for their involvement in illegal money transmission. According to police records, the couple laundered about $19 million in the space of two years.
The statement released by the Dutch prosecutors showed that the couple kept all the proceeds from their illegal business in a bitcoin stash. The Rotterdam police said they have confiscated their stash and would keep their eyes peeled for future cash connections to them.
Until their arrest, the couple lived in Hilversum, a place located in the northern part of Holland. According to prosecutors, the couple refused to obey the stated Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) guidelines while transacting.
Court says the couple didn’t follow KYC/AML guidelines in their transactions
In its verdict, the court said, “Traders did not ask customers for identity papers, while large amounts were often exchanged.”
Continuing its statement, the Rotterdam court filing notes that “The suspects, a man, and his wife, came into contact with customers through advertisements on the Internet and a marketplace on the dark web. Much of the bitcoins traded bore traces of the dark web. The court has established that the suspects laundered more than 16 million euros in two and a half years”
The document presented in court showed that the police seized two different Bitcoin stashes from the couple, with one wallet holding about 1,488 Bitcoins while the other wallet had 1,044 Bitcoins.
In addition to the $33 million in Bitcoin confiscated by authorities, about $295,256 in cash reserves were seized from the couple. Prosecutors claim that the couple stored their funds in Bitcoin to arouse no suspicions and plan to exchange it for cash.
Dutch police continue crackdown against illegal bitcoin ventures
Furthermore, court findings showed that the couple used several methods to make their customers anonymous and untraceable. The couples were said to have met up with most of their customers at restaurants and fast food ventures to make the exchanges.
Prosecutors also said they believed most of the coins gotten from the couple were proceeds from their illegal activities on the dark web.
The Dutch police are very popular going by the number of bitcoin seizures and crackdown against illegal ventures. The Dutch police arrested ten people four years ago in connection to acts of money laundering using Bitcoin.
The Dutch police were also involved in one of the country’s biggest takedowns after undercover officials operated in the DNM for over a month before arrests were made. The couple has also been asked to pay individual fines for the forfeiture operations. The couple will pay $53,137 and $162,955 as fines, respectively.
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