UK seized about $250 million worth of cryptocurrency

London police on Tuesday announced the largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure in the United Kingdom in the framework of a laundering investigation worth nearly $250 million, surpassing the previous record set a few weeks ago.

Agents confiscated around £180 million (about $250 million) worth of cryptocurrency, calling it “one of the largest seizures in the world”.

It surpassed a record seizure of £114 million made by the London Metropolitan Police in June and is part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering, Scotland Yard insisted without specifying what currencies it was.

A 39-year-old woman was arrested on June 24 on suspicion of money laundering and later released on bail. He was then questioned on 10 July about the discovery of virtual currencies worth around £180 million.

“Less than a month ago, we managed to seize £114 million worth of cryptocurrency. Since then, our investigation has been complex and far-reaching… Today’s seizure is another important step in the investigation that will take place over the next several months. Will continue to do so as we search for the people at the center of this alleged money laundering operation,” Detective Joe Ryan explained in a statement.

cryptocurrency In form of Bitcoin They are regularly criticized by regulators for their illegal use due to their ease of use as well as allowing anonymity.

According to a Chainalysis report published in February, transactions in virtual currencies for illicit purposes reached $10 billion in 2020, i.e. 1% of total activity in cryptocurrencies last year and half the amount last year, when such activity reached a Arrived. Record figure of $21.4 billion.