Ireland Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has announced the seizure of approximately €345 million ($378 million) worth of BTC.
The Irish authorities noted that it seized crypto assets from Clifton Collins, a drug dealer who stored the bitcoins in 12 separate wallets for the last four years. The CAB has been unable to access the Bitcoin wallet.
The authorities also noted that the crypto asset was valued at approximately $56 million at the time of confiscation in 2020, following a decision by Ireland’s High Court that it was the result of criminal activity.
According to the CAB, the drug dealer was ordered to surrender the crypto asset to the authorities under the proceeds of crime legislation after the police discovered a cannabis cultivation operation at his residence. A freezing order was imposed to stop any transfer of the assets.
BTC Seed Phrases Lost in Rented Property
Collins claimed that he concealed a document with the seed phrases for his BTC wallets inside a fishing rod case at a rental property in County Galway. He also said the case was lost during a break-in at his house, though the property’s clean-out after his arrest may have also contributed to its disappearance.
The drug dealer initially began investing in Bitcoin in 2011, using earnings from his drug business. At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading between $0.30 and $29, and by the end of that year, its price had settled at $4.72.
According to the CAB’s annual report, €1.2 million ($1.3 million) was recovered from Collins after confiscating assets, including 89 BTC, a fishing boat, a gyroplane, a metal detector, an electric bicycle, and several motor vehicles.
Governments Seizing Bitcoin
This is not the first time a country has confiscated bitcoins from criminals. Earlier this year, the German government sold some €2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) worth of BTC seized in a money laundering investigation, causing the price of the crypto asset to drop.
The U.S. government is reportedly preparing to sell a $4.4 billion stash of BTC confiscated from the dark web marketplace Silk Road after the Supreme Court declined to hear a case regarding its ownership earlier this week.
