UK police claw back £1 million from deceased money laundering suspect

The Avon and Somerset Police in the UK disclosed that it had completed a forfeiture that clawed back more than £1 million in cash, Bitcoin and other digital assets from a dead, convicted money launderer. 

The single largest crypto seizure on record, per the Financial Investigation Unit in its August 27 statement, lands amid a UK-wide push to tackle criminal elements exploiting blockchain technology to conceal and move digital wealth through shadow routes.

UK police reclaim crypto from dead defendant

A UK court authorized Avon and Somerset Police to seize a total of £1,032,487.86 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) filed earlier in the year. Altogether, the seized assets came up at 20.21 BTC, other crypto assets, and cash in a bank account. 

The police claimed that they proceeded to seize the assets because they were determined to be “proceeds of unlawful conduct” after the subject of the investigation’s money laundering conviction. 

The police did not name the defendant, who is now deceased. However, they linked the tokens to darknet marketplaces that operated between 2016 and 2019 using what they described as specialist tracing methods, per Bristol Live. 

The deceased owner of the assets aside, this case also drew attention because it is the biggest such seizure by the Avon and Somerset Police since authorities could issue crypto wallet freeze orders in April 2024. 

Under the new regime, UK police don’t need a conviction before they put a hold on a crypto wallet. Reasonable criminal suspicion is enough rationale to initiate a freeze. 

Funds recovered via the POCA route don’t get parked in a general Treasury pot. Community and police work will get the £1 million boost, according to the Avon and Somerset Police, outlining education and training, early intervention and crime prevention plans.

UK police leverage blockchain to fight criminals

Detective Constable Anthony Davis of the Financial Investigation Unit pointed out a general misconception among criminals who wrongly believe that crypto offers them anonymity by default. 

“Many people think cryptocurrencies provide anonymity, help conceal wealth and place assets beyond the reach of law enforcement,” Davis said. “In reality, a permanent record of transactions is stored on a digital leger called a blockchain, which can be an invaluable source of evidence.”

He added that the force would “continue to use all available powers to identify, trace and recover criminal property, regardless of the form it takes.”

Part of a wider UK squeeze on crypto crime

The seizure fits a pattern of British agencies treating blockchain as a lead rather than a dead end. In July, the Metropolitan Police jailed three men who impersonated officers to steal more than £4 million in crypto from eight victims, recovering roughly £1 million in victim funds after tracing wallets, aliases and exchange records, the Met said.

Regulators have moved too. In April, the Financial Conduct Authority ran what it called its first coordinated crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, targeting eight London premises alongside HMRC and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, according to the FCA’s own press release. 

The same SWROCU unit closed a separate £2.2 million money laundering case this month, one in which the laundered cash was immediately converted into cryptocurrency.

The common thread across all of them is that crypto’s transaction ledger is now doing the work that investigators once relied on cash trails to do.

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