- The London Metropolitan Police seizes £114 million in a fresh raid.
- According to research by Crypto Head, crypto-related crime in the UK rose by 124 percent annually.
Scotland Yard has reportedly uncovered £114 million in Bitcoin suspected to be proceeds from criminal activity. According to a report, the discovery is a result of an investigation into a money laundering case after police were tipped off by an undisclosed individual. Authorities have vowed to track down those involved In the Colossal money laundering operation. For this reason, details of the investigation are not being disclosed to the public. On record, this is one of the largest crypto seizures in the world and the biggest in British History. Reports estimate that this is 20 times the amount seized from criminals by authorities last year.
The deputy assistant Commissioner, Graham McNulty commented that the team is working tirelessly to keep sanity on the streets and bring money launderers to book.
Every single part of the Met is working to reduce violence on the streets of London as an absolute priority, this includes our financial investigators.
In 2019, the Surrey police became the first force to seize more than £1.2 million in Bitcoin from a senior member of an organized crime gang.
The London Metropolitan Police in 2018 also made a high-profile arrest involving a 25-year-old cybercriminal. Roughly $700,000 worth of Bitcoin said to be proceeds of his criminal activities was seized. According to some reports, he used phishing emails to lure people into disclosing their personal information including passwords, credit card numbers, and names. He then sold the stolen information to vendors on the dark web, receiving payment in Bitcoin which was stored in multiple virtual wallets.
Crypto-related crimes rise year-on-year in the UK
According to Mick Gallagher, a police investigator, these discoveries clearly debunk the perception that perpetrators who hide behind Bitcoin cannot be exposed.
These people generally feel they can operate with impunity, that they can’t be touched. We have now debunked that.
The UK has sought to control the rising crypto-related crimes by ordering all crypto firms to register with the FCA. According to research by Crypto Head, crypto-related crime in the UK has risen by 124 percent annually. Since 2016, 24,847 crypto crimes have been recorded with 8,801 recorded in 2020 alone. Interestingly, crypto investment keeps becoming a center of attraction among UK adults. Co-founder of Crypto Head Adam Morris has advised investors not to fall victim to cybercriminals.
Make sure you are using an exchange you trust and that doesn’t have insane fees. Also, make sure that you store your cryptocurrencies in an offline wallet such as a hardware wallet. Not your keys, not your crypto – if you don’t have custody of your cryptocurrency in your wallet you are at risk.
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