Cops collar crypto crook in a Bitcoin first

Surrey Police says it has become the first force in the UK to retain Bitcoin used by a criminal to hide his illegal assets.

Whilst other forces have seized Bitcoin before, Surrey Police are the first UK law enforcement agency to then convert it into sterling and retain the money following a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing yesterday.

Seregjs Teresko, 31, was charged with money laundering and drugs offences in April 2017 when police found a cannabis factory at an address he was allegedly kidnapped from in Virginia Water. When his home address in Cobham was searched, evidence of Bitcoin activity was discovered along with large amounts of cash and luxury goods.

The Economic Crime Unit (ECU) seized 295 Bitcoins under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and converted them to the value of £1,246,279.33. In total the court ruled he must forfeit £1,447,935.70, including the Bitcoin, the cash and luxury goods found, along with an additional £13,150.

“Not as anonymous as you think”

Detective Inspector Matthew Durkin, of the Economic Crime Unit, says: “It appears Teresko was a member of an organised crime group and Bitcoin was one of the methods he chose to launder criminal assets. I hope this sends a clear message to criminals using Bitcoin to fund illegal activities; it’s not as anonymous as you think, we are able to trace you and we will prosecute.”

Nick Price, Head of CPS Proceeds of Crime, comments: “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.”