A Queensland man has lost over $4.5 million in assets, including a waterfront mansion, a luxury car, and Bitcoin, after they were classified as suspected proceeds of crime. This decision followed an investigation led by the Australian Federal Police’s Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), which began in September 2018. The investigation was prompted by Luxembourg law enforcement reporting dubious Bitcoin transactions linked to the man, who had a prior conviction for hacking a gaming company in the United States.
Authorities suspect that these transactions may be connected to a theft of 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange in 2013. Although no criminal charges have been laid against him, the national proceeds of crime legislation permits the confiscation of suspected criminal assets without requiring a prosecution. Recently, the District Court of Queensland instructed that the man’s assets be surrendered to the Commonwealth.
The CACT initially imposed restraining orders in July 2023 over the man’s assets— the luxury home, a 2019 black Mercedes-Benz sedan, and 24.99454224 Bitcoin—on the grounds that they might be proceeds from illegal activities. The committee noted that the value of these assets greatly exceeded the man’s legitimate earnings, with the Bitcoin alone estimated to be worth more than $4 million.
The sale of these forfeited assets will contribute to a fund aimed at bolstering crime prevention and law enforcement initiatives. Since its establishment in July 2019, the CACT has successfully restrained over $1.2 billion in criminal assets, including properties, vehicles, yachts, cryptocurrency, fine art, and luxury items.