Dutch Authorities Seized $360 Million In Crypto And Cash In 2020: Report

Dutch authorities seized more than $360 million in crypto and in cash in 2020 out of which 8 million EUR were in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies so let’s read more in our latest crypto news today.

In 2020, Dutch authorities seized more than $300 million in crypto and in cash which marked a serious increase from 2019. The authorities seized about $303 million worth of cash and crypto in criminal cases with the Netherlands Public Prosecutors Service according to the announcement. This is a considerable increase from 2019 when a total of $312 million in cash and in crypto was confiscated.

Of the seized funds in 2020, about $9.9 million was in BTC and other cryptocurrencies which is a significant increase from the previous year when the authorities seized $1.1 million worth of crypto. As per the national money laundering prosecutor Anita Van Dis, this is due to the fact that the Dutch law enforcement seized plenty of wallets that belong to so-called crypto whales that basically address that have large amounts of crypto stored in them.
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In 2020, the OM announced the seizure of over 2500 BTC in a criminal case that involved a couple from Hilversum who was accused of laundering about $19 million and were convicted on money laundering charges. Van Dis stated:

“We are seeing a sharp increase in certain types of crime involving the misuse of crypto coins.”

Cryptocurrencies like BTC are associated with illicit activity and money laundering but the numbers show that cash is still the preferred method for criminal transactions with about $184 million seized at the request of other countries. Unlike other countries that hold seized crypto until a decision is made, the dutch Public prosecutors convert them into Euros. The agency takes a similar approach towards other fiat currencies as pounds or dollars. Reiner Bredenood who is a crypto advisor for OM noted:

“We do not want to give the impression that we are speculating with criminal assets.”

Countries like the UK and the US practice public sales of seized crypto assets and since 2014, the US alone auctioned off 185,230 BTC or more than $9.7 billion in today’s prices. The US Department of Justice announced the seizure of an additional $1 billion worth of BTC that was linked to the darknet marketplace Silk Road.