Dutch authorities seized €8.2 million in cryptocurrency in 2020

The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office in the past year increased the volume of confiscations of illegally obtained proceeds from €258.1 million to €303 million ($367 million).

Of the total €8.2 million ($9.9 million), investigators seized in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In 2019, this figure was only €1.1 million.

Anita van Dis, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office, explained that the increase was due to access to wallets of several whales. In particular, in October 2020 the agency seized around 2,500 BTC (~$33 million at the time) as part of the investigation of one of the criminal cases.

“We observe a sharp rise in crimes related to the improper use of cryptocurrencies.”, noted van Dis.

The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office converts the received digital assets and funds denominated in foreign currencies into euros.

The German authorities have been unable to access the 1,700 BTC (~$101 million) seized several years ago because the wallet password is unavailable.

In January 2021, the British police selected Komainu as a custodial service for storing confiscated cryptocurrency.

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