London Police Seize $160 Million in Crypto in Largest-Ever AML Investigation
- The Metropolitan Police have seized $160 million worth of cryptocurrencies in the country’s largest AML confiscation ever.
- The Met’s Economic Crime Command wants to prevent money laundering using crypto and is lobbying for tougher laws.
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The Metropolitan Police announced that its London detectives have seized around $160 million worth of cryptocurrencies in what has become the largest such confiscation in the country. According to a press release published on 24 June, the Met’s Economic Crime Command carried out the seizure after receiving information about the transfer of criminal assets. The police didn’t reveal any details about the cryptocurrencies involved or the time and place of the confiscation, but it said that the money-laundering investigation is still ongoing.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said that, while cash is still the most common way to launder money, some criminals have been moving to more sophisticated methods using cryptocurrencies. The Met’s Economic Crime Command has highly trained officers and specialist units working to stay on top of these sophisticated money laundering operations involving digital assets, he added.
However, earlier this month a senior detective with the Met revealed that outdated laws are still holding law enforcement agencies back. Mich Gallagher, detective superintendent at the Met’s central specialist crime command, said that the Met has been lobbying legislators to align cryptocurrencies with the same kind of approach law enforcement agencies have about cash-based criminality.
- The U.S. Department of Justice worked together with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Treasury Department, and French authorities to take down the laundering operation.
- Crypto Twitter, however, was not impressed with the “major international cryptocurrency enforcement action” against the little known platform.
U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C, 10 January, 2012. Diego M. Radzinschi/The National Law Journal
- The London upgrade brought with it EIP-1559, which will decrease the ETH circulating supply by burning transactions base fee.
- While mining pool operators claim EIP-1559 will unfairly cut into their profits, proponents of the change argue it will help ETH transition to a deflationary asset.
- Ben Delo has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, and was granted a $20 million bail.
- Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed have all agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities, while Gregory Dwyer continues to remain at large.