Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) retrieved $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrency for Colonial Pipeline following a ransomware attack that disrupted the company's operations.
This seizure was one of the first of its kind and marked a new path forward for recovering ransom payments.
About one month later, police in the U.K. accomplished something similar to the DOJ, but at quite a larger scale.
Detectives from the Met’s Economic Crime Command seized £180 million, or roughly $249 million, in cryptocurrency following intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets.
How did the U.K. recover millions in cryptocurrency?
In June, the Met was able to seize £114 million ($157 million) of crypto after a 39-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
She was released on bail, but was recently interviewed by police about the discovery of £180 million in crypto.
Here is what Detective Constable Joe Ryan said regarding the situation:
"Less than a month ago we successfully seized £114million in cryptocurrency. Our investigation since then has been complex and wide-ranging. We have worked hard to trace this money and identify the criminality it may be linked to. Today's seizure is another significant landmark in this investigation which will continue for months to come as we hone in on those at the centre of this suspected money laundering operation."
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty also weighed in:
"Proceeds of crime are laundered in many different ways. While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we're increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money.
Whilst some years ago this was fairly unchartered territory, we now have highly trained officers and specialist units working hard in this space to remain one step ahead of those using it for illicit gain.
The detectives on this case have worked tirelessly and meticulously to trace millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency suspected of being linked to criminality and now being laundered to hide the trail. Those linked to this money are clearly working hard to hide it. Our investigation will stop at nothing to disrupt the transfer and identify those involved."
As for the technical aspect of how they captured the cryptocurrency, officials are not elaborating, and neither did the FBI in the Colonial Pipeline case.
We know that the FBI gained access to DarkSide's Bitcoin wallet with a stolen password, but we don't know exactly how they did this. Perhaps the Met used a similar method in this case.
