This week, we go across the Atlantic to the UK and Europe, where we have seen some major victories in combating crypto-related crime. Law enforcement disrupted millions of pounds and euros in illicit crypto activities, from crypto-related fraud to drug money laundering, perpetrated by sophisticated cyber criminals on victims across the globe. They also navigated significant practical and legal complexities to return seized cryptocurrency to victims.
Let’s take a look at some of 2023’s key successes across Europe.
1. UK police return GBP 2 million of Bitcoin stolen in crypto fraud scheme
In 2023, the UK saw a number of outstanding cases involving large sums of cryptocurrency brought to a satisfying conclusion. Criminal sentences were handed out and Various UK law enforcement agencies were able to return large sums of ill-gotten cryptocurrency to victims.
One notable case which illustrates the complexities of digital asset recovery and restitution in the UK was a crypto fraud scheme perpetrated by former Oxford University PhD candidate Wybo Wiersma in 2018. Wiersma created a fraudulent site luring victims to generate what they believed were random seed phrases, which are used to control the tokens associated with a blockchain address. However, these seed phrases were in fact predetermined by Wiersma, who then made off with the victims’ crypto assets. He then transferred the tokens to numerous cryptocurrency accounts.
Following Wiersma’s arrest in 2019, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) seized GBP 2.37 million (USD 3 million) in cryptocurrency from an exchange under the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act. This was the first time that the Act had been used to make a crypto seizure from an exchange. In November 2023, the court ordered GBP 2.1 million (USD 2.67 million) to be paid back to the victims.