German prosecutors have hired a bank to “clean” cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases. “As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges,” the bank said.
A Bank is Hired to Clear Cryptocurrency in Criminal Cases
The anti-cybercrime unit of the Frankfurt General Prosecutor in the German state of Hesse has reportedly hired Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG to “clean” cryptocurrencies worth about 100 million euros ($113 million), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Three drug dealers were involved in the criminal case that led to the seizure of these coins.
The bank stated that the seized cryptocurrency will be returned to normal circulation once it has been cleaned.
As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges.
The cleaning process established by Bankhaus Scheich “ensures that trading partners are informed that the currencies are back in legal possession and have been declared ‘clean,’ allowing them to be sold,” the publication conveyed. However, Bankhaus Scheich did not give any details about the procedure.
Bankhaus Scheich reported that the seized cryptocurrency had been sold within a week. These funds will now go to the budget of the state government.
Both the bank and the prosecutors said that they would cooperate with each other in any future criminal investigations to return the cryptocurrency confiscated back to the market.
Many people found this move interesting on social media. Podcaster Joe Weisenthal, for example, tweeted:
It’s interesting that governments are in the service of, essentially, reverse laundering crypto. They take tainted crypto (that was seized in criminal cases, and as such isn’t traded on exchanges) and then wash it so that it can trade freely again on the market.
What do you think about the German government hiring a bank to “clean” seized cryptocurrencies? Please comment below.
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