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A Canadian judge has just ordered what appears to be the largest Bitcoin seizure in the country's history. The Bitcoin reserve was discovered in a cryptocurrency wallet on the computer of Matthew Phan, a cocaine dealer who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. Justice Kelly, of the Superior Court, ordered Phan to lose 281.41 bitcoins, with a current value of about 1.38 million US dollars.
According to the Toronto Star, Phan also pleaded guilty to buying a handgun on the dark canvas. He pleaded guilty in December when he admitted to purchasing large quantities of cocaine, ketamine and PCP. The 30-year-old accused said he used part of his Bitcoin (BTC) for legal activities, such as buying gold and trading BTC for other cryptographic currencies, Justice Kelly said. rejected the evidence that there was a "legitimate explanation" for Bitcoin in his possession.
According to Kelly JA,
"There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that Mr. Phan was using dark markets to buy illegal items such as guns and silencers. It is clear from the evidence found during the searches, in particular of his condominium housing, that he was leading a major illegal drug sale operation. "
A search on Phan's computer in 2015 revealed 288 Bitcoins. At that time, when the price of bitcoin was about $ 305, Phan's badets were worth about $ 88,000. In 2017, Phan's bitcoin holdings totaled more than $ 7 million.
"It is reasonable to infer that payment for these illicit drug sales was made using bitcoins found in Mr. Phan's digital wallet."
Of the total amount of Bitcoin, the judge ruled that 7.23 BTC, worth about $ 49,000, would not be lost on the grounds that the lowest sum was probably not criminal activity .
The case recalls Silk Road, an online market for drugs, weapons and other contraband that was shut down by the FBI, which seized its 144,000 Bitcoins valued at around $ 28.5 million. of dollars. Operator Ross Ulbricht, who used Bitcoin to carry out illegal transactions, is currently serving a double life sentence and 40 years without the possibility of parole. At its peak, Silk Road generated approximately $ 1.2 billion in online sales of illicit products. Ulbricht was sentenced in 2015.
Phan is waiting for his sentence. During his trial, Dave Jevans, CEO of blockchain security company CipherTrace, gave a testimonial about Phan's Bitcoin transactions. Jevans became the first such expert witness on Bitcoins to be certified by a Canadian criminal court.
Jevans testified that he had been able to track multiple transactions in the Agora and Evolution black markets to Phan Bitcoin addresses.
Jevans wrote:
"If I did not know anything about the file, apart from the bitcoin addresses controlled by Mr. Phan, my badysis would indicate that this person was trafficking drugs online."
Jevans' testimony shows how it is possible to track and track criminal activities with crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, generating evidence from large, immutable, court-approved records.
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Disclaimer: Daily Hodl's advice is not investment advice. Investors should exercise due diligence before making high-risk investments in Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency or digital badets. Please note that your transfers and transactions are at your own risk and that any loss you may incur is your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend buying or selling crypto-currencies or digital badets, and the Daily Hodl is not an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.
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