Lancashire Police have gained approximately $665,000 (£500,000) after Bitcoin, seized in a major fraud case, surged in value well beyond the stolen sum.
Officers confiscated the Bitcoin from criminals who had converted stolen funds. Due to significant price increases, the financial outcome exceeded the original loss when the police recovered the assets.
Bitcoin’s Value Surge Creates Unexpected Windfall
The investigation began in December 2017, when police received a report of stolen funds from a victim of fraud. Enquiries revealed the perpetrators had converted the stolen funds into Bitcoin, which subsequently increased in value over time.
As a result, police held assets worth much more than the original stolen amount, presenting a rare surplus to be allocated. The surplus was split between the police and the Home Office as mandated by UK law.
According to Lancashire Police, freezing tools enabled by the Proceeds of Crime Act allowed officers to secure the crypto assets. Courts then granted restitution to victims equal to their actual losses. But UK law restricts additional compensation if assets appreciate substantially.
“It’s unusual for the criminal property to raise in value to more than that of the original crime, but this has allowed us to fully compensate the victim, with some spare that can be used to reduce crime, helping us to protect the people of Lancashire,” Detective Sergeant David Wainwright, of Lancashire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said.
In summary, only the amount originally stolen returns to the victims. Police secure half of any additional windfall, channeling it into broader community and crime prevention efforts.
Such cases are becoming more common. Fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices often complicate asset recovery and victim restitution.
The Crown Prosecution Service has documented similar incidents, including dark web investigations involving digital asset seizures. Law enforcement must follow strict guidelines under the Proceeds of Crime Act to value and forfeit cryptocurrencies, as shown in one recent case where an ex-NCA officer stole 50 Bitcoin. The value increased by millions between the time of seizure and sentencing.
While UK authorities are beginning to harness the value of seized cryptocurrency to support local crime prevention, across the Atlantic, digital assets are being misused in increasingly deceptive ways.
In the US, a Colorado pastor and his wife were recently charged with defrauding investors out of $3.4 million through a faith-based crypto scheme. They promoted a worthless token called INDXcoin as divinely inspired while allegedly spending the funds on personal luxuries.
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