Avon and Somerset Police Freeze Crypto Wallets in Record £1m Seizure
The Avon and Somerset Police in the UK made a significant seizure of over £1 million in crypto assets from a deceased convicted money launderer. The single largest crypto seizure on record, this move comes amid a broader effort to combat criminal exploitation of blockchain technology in the UK.
According to the Financial Investigation Unit's statement on August 27, a court authorized the police to seize a total of £1,032,487.86 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). The seized assets included 20.21 BTC and other crypto holdings, as well as cash in a bank account.
Police claimed that the assets were determined to be 'proceeds of unlawful conduct' after the subject's money laundering conviction. Specialist tracing methods linked the tokens to darknet marketplaces that operated between 2016 and 2019, according to Bristol Live.
The seizure is significant not only because of its size but also because it was carried out under new regime rules that allow police to freeze crypto wallets with reasonable criminal suspicion, even without a conviction. The seized funds will be used for community policing initiatives and crime prevention plans, rather than being deposited into the Treasury.