A local bank in Germany has been tasked to ‘clean’ cryptocurrencies worth about $113 million. This digital asset was confiscated from three drug dealers. The German authorities cannot sell it as it was already tainted. Traders or investors wouldn’t buy these cryptocurrencies as it has been labeled ‘criminal coins’.
As such, the prosecutors have sought the services of Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist. The local financial institution will help the authorities have the cryptocurrencies supposedly cleaned out at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The bank successfully sold the cryptocurrencies and gave the traditional returns to the state government.
The bank, as per a statement, explained that cryptocurrencies used in criminal activities are described as contaminated coins. Therefore, digital assets cannot be transacted on mainstream exchanges. The bank said the contaminated coins have to be made clean or legal before the crypto exchanges or investors can purchase them.
The Bankhaus Scheich Wetpapierspezialist added that they were able to sell the cryptocurrencies within a week. And the proceeds have boosted the state government’s budget.
Legitimate Exchanges And Dirty Cryptocurrency
Criminals use cryptocurrency on the dark web. They engage in money laundering to hide their illicit funds and stash them away. Criminals, nowadays, prefer cryptocurrency because it is easier to transfer and doesn’t fall in the purview of authorities like fiat currency.
Legitimate exchanges (the majority of platforms across the world) follow rules stringently. The criminals are only limited to shady platforms that do not comply with rules and regulations. Regulated exchanges verify identity and do through KYC policies.
Criminals use anonymizing services to hide the source of their cryptocurrencies.
