Germany Seizes 50,000 BTC

In a review of an older criminal case against a major pirate site, German police have taken control of almost 50,000 BTC (equivalent to $2.17 billion) that were obtained through illegal activities.

According to the investigation, in 2013, two administrators of the site illegally generated profits by using copyrighted works for commercial purposes.

Although the site was shut down by court order, it was discovered that the criminals had laundered their illegal earnings, including through the use of cryptocurrency.

As part of their cooperation with authorities, one of the defendants willingly transferred the coins to the wallets of the German Federal Criminal Police Office. This is the largest seizure of digital assets in the history of Germany.

The investigation, which involves the Leipzig Tax Office, is ongoing and no charges have been filed against the accused individuals. It has yet to be determined how the seized Bitcoins will be used in the future.