Canadian Police Make Their Largest Crypto Seizure In History

Canada’s police made their largest asset seizure ever, confiscating over $40 million from a crypto exchange. However, they haven’t yet arrested any employees or other suspects.

TradeOgre, the exchange in question, completely disregarded mandatory KYC and registration requirements. Police believe that most of its trade volume came from illegal sources.

Canada’s Biggest Crypto Seizure

Crypto crime is at an epidemic level right now, but law enforcement agencies are still working to fight bad actors. According to local media, police in Canada made a breakthrough today, seizing over $40 million in crypto from an illicit exchange:

“RCMP Federal Policing – Eastern Region has carried out the largest cryptocurrency seizure in Canadian history. Thanks to the work of investigators specialized in financial crime, cybercrime, and cryptocurrencies, an estimated sum of over 56 million [CAD] ($40 million USD) was recovered from the platform TradeOgre,” police statements claimed.

Canada has levied hefty fines upon noncompliant crypto exchanges and aggressively pursued tax evaders, but this incident is different.

Police completely dismantled this exchange, signaling increased efforts to enforce compliance and combat money laundering in the digital asset sector.

So, what did TradeOgre do to warrant this crypto crackdown from Canada? Apparently, the investigation has been ongoing since June 2024, prompted by a tip from Europol.

TradeOgre did more than skirt KYC requirements, allowing users to set up accounts with complete anonymity.

This led to a predictable result. According to Canadian authorities, most of the funds transacted on the platform came from criminal sources.

High-risk crypto exchanges are very skilled at money laundering, using sophisticated methods to disguise sanctions violations, clean stolen funds, and more.

Apparently, Canada’s law enforcement agencies are taking a firmer stance against the illegal uses of crypto. Local media also reported that other officials have been giving fresh warnings about social media scams.

Between this and the enforcement against TradeOgre, a trend could be beginning.

Still, outside observers probably shouldn’t worry that Canada is preparing a crypto crackdown. Although the current Prime Minister has criticized the industry in the past, his tenure has seen regulatory breakthroughs like an XRP ETF.

Hopefully, this escalation will focus on protecting consumers, not attacking Web3.