Surrey Police Makes UK History by Converting Seized Bitcoin to Cash
In a groundbreaking move, Surrey Police has become the first police force in the UK to successfully convert Bitcoin to cash after seizing over £1.2m worth of the cryptocurrency from a member of an organized crime gang.
Details of the Seizure
Latvian national Sergejs Teresko was reportedly kidnapped from his home in Virginia Water in April last year, prompting his neighbors and girlfriend to raise the alarm. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered that Teresko’s rented house had been transformed into a cannabis growing operation. Along with £263,000 in cash and various designer watches, a Keepkey digital wallet device was found on the property.
The digital wallet contained 295 Bitcoins, valued at nearly £1.8m in today’s prices, but around £1.2m at the time of seizure. Surrey Police proceeded to sell the cryptocurrency on a Bitcoin exchange.
Legal Proceedings
Nick Price, head of the proceeds of crime team at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), stated, “The CPS secured an order permitting the restrained Bitcoin to be converted into pounds, before a confiscation order was made — the first time the Proceeds of Crime Act has been used in this way. Our dedicated proceeds of crime team restrained the criminal proceeds at an early stage for the purposes of this confiscation order to ensure that Teresko’s crimes do not pay.”
Following investigations, Teresko was found to have profited over £2m from his criminal activities. He was sentenced to nine years and three months in prison for money laundering and drug offenses at Kingston Crown Court. Moreover, he was ordered to repay over £1.4m within three months, failing which he would face an additional decade behind bars.
Law Enforcement’s Stance on Cryptocurrency
“Cryptocurrency is used legitimately by a lot of people but it’s also used by criminals. We know that in dark marketplaces bitcoin is the chosen medium of exchange,” mentioned detective inspector Matt Durkin. He further emphasized, “We were not going to accept that bitcoin was out of the reach of law enforcement, it’s not and nor are other types of cryptocurrency.”