Finland has sold 1,889 bitcoins seized in a drug case for €46.5 million ($47.4 million). The country’s finance minister has previously said that the proceeds from the sale of the bitcoins will be used for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Ukraine, which is still at war with Russia.
Finland Sells Bitcoins Seized from Drug Crimes
The Finnish government’s customs agency, Finnish Customs (aka Tulli), announced Thursday that it has sold “legally confiscated” bitcoins.
“Over the summer, Finnish Customs realized its cryptocurrency that had been legally confiscated by the state.” The announcement elaborates.
The realization concerned 1,889.1 bitcoins. The country earned a total of about 46.5 million euros from the proceeds of the sale.
Customs explained that the bitcoins were seized “in connection with the investigation of crimes related to drugs and doping substances.”
The coins were “sold in late spring by two cryptocurrency brokers selected by Customs through a competitive negotiation procedure,” the announcement continued.
Finnish Customs further revealed that about 90 bitcoins still remain in its possession.” awaiting a valid ruling of confiscation.” At the time of this writing, bitcoins were trading at $22,874, down 10% over the past seven days but up 14.4% over the past 30 days.
Tulli added that other cryptocurrencies have also been seized. However, because the investigation into these cases is ongoing, “we cannot reveal the currencies or their amounts in detail,” Finnish Customs explained, adding that they are worth “up to several hundred thousand euros.”
Tulli Finance Director Pekka Pylkkänen told Finnish news agency STT that most of the bitcoins (1666 BTC) seized and sold over the summer were from Finnish drug dealer seized in 2016 after Douppikauppa’s arrest; in 2017, the Turku court sentenced the drug dealer to several years in prison.
Finnish Finance Minister Annika Saarikko said in May that the proceeds from the sale of the seized bitcoins will be used to benefit Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. She noted that the money would be used for humanitarian aid and reconstruction.
Pylkkänen told the news outlet that the state has already received the proceeds of the bitcoin sale, noting that.” Apparently, it is going to Ukraine.”
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons