How Irish gangs are stashing crypto keys in private vaults

Organized criminal syndicates in Ireland are now using rented security boxes to keep the phrases and private keys needed to access their cryptocurrency wallets safe. They are storing them along with money, luxury watches, and passports where the police cannot easily locate them, the head of the state’s asset seizure unit said.

Michael Gubbins, a Detective Chief Superintendent of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of Ireland, revealed this technique. However, the agency has already flagged it to the government’s Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee.

Why does a rented box beat a mixer?

The advantage is its low-tech nature. Rather than sending funds through a mixer or exchange for conversion into anonymous cryptocurrency, the criminals seal the hardware wallet or piece of paper bearing the 24-word phrase inside a sealed box at a place that the gang has leased.

The funds remain on-chain and open to observation by anyone who cares to monitor the blockchain. The only thing that disappears is the key. Without it, confiscated wallets are useless, and searching one site does not mean that the keys are found; they might be stored elsewhere.

Gubbins explained that the criminals rely on a perceived security measure. “There’s a sense that there’s anonymity associated with it,” he was quoted as saying in the paper. This is supplemented by his personal caveat that the volatility of cryptocurrencies hampers anyone trying to store ill-gotten funds in them.

A legal loophole is helping Irish gangs

Renting a safe deposit box is legal, and that’s the problem. News sources have revealed that for CAB to get a forfeiture order, they must link the contents of a box to the proceeds of crime. This means a greater burden of evidence compared to when they freeze the assets of a suspect in a bank account.

While explaining the situation in Ireland, Gubbins did not present crypto as an absolute solution but as one of many. “Even though we do see them using it, it’s not the only way of laundering their money,” Gubbins stated. Despite this, the bureau still deals with professional money launderers who run hawala operations—a system of transferring funds without actually moving the cash.

According to Gubbins, the use of cryptocurrency by criminals in Ireland is “still quite rudimentary,” and dirty money is mostly cash in the drug trade.

A locked wallet worth €30 million

Nevertheless, CAB has shown the ability to break these holdings, but seldom. In March 2026, the bureau managed to open a wallet worth around €30 million containing 500 BTC. This wallet was a part of the 6,000 BTC wallet captured in 2019 by the bureau, with Europol supporting this operation.

The size of a single wallet is impressive compared to the achievements of the bureau over the last few years. During the last decade, the bureau managed to sell seized cryptocurrency amounting to only €6.5 million.

New EU money rules come next summer

At the same time, this disclosure coincides with preparations by Ireland for new EU anti-money laundering rules coming into effect next summer. These regulations will introduce bans on payments in cash above €10,000 and require identification of any person paying more than €3,000 in cash. Cryptocurrency asset service providers, luxury goods vendors, and crowdfunding platforms have been put under strict control.

Ireland has presented its first national anti-money laundering strategy this month after having developed an action plan that enhances protection against cryptocurrency-related money laundering. At the same time, CAB contemplates introducing new legislation regarding the seizure and freezing of digital assets.

Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free.