As criminals increasingly turn to cryptocurrencies to hide or transfer their wealth, governments and service providers have increased their focus on putting a halt to such practices.
Following the shutdown of an international movie piracy website, assets generated by the site have been either frozen or seized. The movie piracy website was hosted by Jaron David McIvor, a thirty-one-year-old programmer. McIvor’s assets are now in the hands of officials.
A press release stated that McIvor’s assets included up to US$4.2 million in cryptocurrency and $700,000 in banked funds. Authorities also have an associate of McIvor’s in custody, and have confiscated funds totalling $472,000 in cryptocurrency and $377,000 in banked funds.
Money generated from the website were distributed to people in US, Canada, Vietnam and New Zealand through financial services such as PayPal and Stripe. PayPal recognised suspicious activity and then reported it to the US Internal Revenue Service. The IRS traced the money back to McIvor.
McIvor is under investigation until the court decides his fate.
Detective Senior Sergeant Keith Kay has stated that, “introducing illicitly-obtained funds into New Zealand constitutes money laundering, and police will thoroughly investigate and restrain the assets of those who undertake such activity.”
Despite statements of this kind, McIvor has not been charged with money laundering.
McIvor’s assets are being held in accordance with the civil case made under the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act.
The High Court has ordered the sale of McIvor’s cryptocurrencies in order to maintain their value. The timing of the High Court’s sale will determine the value of McIvor’s assets.
Main reference: https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2019/nz-police-seize–6m-in-cryptocurrency.html