THE CRIMINAL ASSETS Bureau (CAB) has seized €30m worth of cryptocurrency as the proceeds of crime with the support of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre. 

A garda spokesperson said that CAB in collaboration with Europol, gained access to a cryptocurrency wallet that contained 500 bitcoin that were proceeds of crime, and seized them. 

They added in the leadup to the seizure Europol hosted meetings at its headquarters in The Hague in the Netherlands, and provided “critical support to Bureau investigators and analysts with the provision of highly complex technical expertise and decryption resources vital to the success of the operation.”

CAB has frozen crypto-assets in the past, and has stated its intent to target cryptocurrency from criminal organisations. 

Cryptocurrency is an increasingly popular option in the criminal world for hiding wealth due to the difficulties authorities face in tracing it. 

CAB is an independent statutory body, established in 1996, which carries out investigations into the suspected proceeds of criminal conduct.