German Prosecutors Sell Seized Crypto for Millions of Euro

Prosecutors in the German government state of Bavaria have sold seized cryptocurrency worth €12 mln ($13.9 mln), the highest of such sale in German legal history, local news Der Tagesspiegel announced May 28.

The sale purportedly included 1312 Bitcoins (BTC), and also critical measures of other cryptocurrencies, including 1399 Bitcoin Cash, 1312 Bitcoin Gold, and 220 Ethereum. Cryptocurrencies which were seized during criminal procedures were sold through the span of two months in 1,600 individual transactions. The prosecutors remarked the deal: “Since all cryptocurrencies are exposed to the risk of high price fluctuations or even total loss, the Bayern Central Cybercrime Office ordered an emergency sale.”

The assets were gathered during criminal procedures against online platform “Lesen und Lauschen,” which offered more than 200,000 ebooks and audiobooks illegally, asking as small as a few pennies as installment. As indicated by Der Tagesspiegel, no less than 30,000 individuals utilized the platform. The webpage administrators were caught last June by officers from the Bayern Central Cybercrime Office, who along these lines restricted the site.

Auctioning off resources seized during criminal examinations is regular practice by law enforcement agencies around the world. While Germany raised almost $14 mln from its cryptocurrency deal, the US Marshals Service raised over $40 mln for 3,812 BTC seized throughout the civil and criminal procedures in January.

A year ago, Bulgarian police seized 213,519 BTC after they busted a strategic crime group that was selecting corrupt customs officers. During the seizure, the total of BTC was generally $3.3 bln, enough to pay off one-fifth of Bulgaria’s national debt. Today, a similar sum is worth $1.5 bln. At press time BTC is trading at $7,101.