Seized cryptocurrency - Saxony sells Bitcoins for around 2.64 billion Euro
The confiscated nearly 50,000 Bitcoins, worth approximately 2.64 billion Euro, from a criminal proceedings in Saxony have been sold. The responsible General Prosecutor's Office Dresden refers to this as a "market-stabilizing sale" of the cryptocurrency in the past few weeks. There had been speculation that the sale of larger Bitcoin quantities could lead to an oversupply and price drops.
Money from proceedings against an illegal streaming portal
The money comes from a case against the illegal film exchange platform movie2k. The General Prosecutor's Office Dresden indicted a suspected head of the portal in April. He is accused of illegally exploiting copyrighted works - commercially. The man had gone into hiding and was sought internationally by arrest warrant since the end of 2019. He was arrested abroad in 2023 and spent the middle of January in investigative detention. On the film portal, hundreds of thousands of pirated copies of films and series were offered. The operators are said to have generated millions in revenue and thereby acquired Bitcoins. The portal was shut down in 2013.
Who gets the sale proceeds?
Whether the sale proceeds eventually flow into the coffers of the Free State is still open. "The proceeds initially do not represent additional revenue in the Saxon budget, but are, until the final conclusion of the criminal proceedings, a secured deposit," the General Prosecutor's Office states. The multi-billion dollar amount is currently only provisionally secured for the movie2k criminal proceedings at the Leipzig Regional Court. "It is currently not foreseeable when a decision by the competent court for the seizure will be made and become legally binding."
"Extraordinary disposal in unprecedented scale"
"Saxony and the Saxon justice have been in the focus of the global crypto scene in the past months. Our General Prosecutor and his team, along with external crypto experts, have professionally and successfully carried out the extraordinary disposal of the Bitcoins in unprecedented scale," says Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens) to the German Press Agency. All those involved deserve thanks and recognition for this.
First claims have already been made publicly after the announcement of the sale proceeds. "We are already campaigning today for using the money to stock up investment funds for hospitals. There is also a large backlog in the renovation of kindergarten and school buildings," emphasizes Left faction leader Rico Gebhardt.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in Saxony, Germany (LKA), handled the "legal proceedings" related to the illegal streaming portal movie2k, which involved the seizure of significant amounts of Bitcoins.
- Similar to the confiscated Bitcoins from the criminal proceedings in Saxony, a large portion of the Bitcoins acquired from the movie2k portal were also sold in a "market-stabilizing sale" over the past few weeks.
- The criminal proceedings against the movie2k portal, which resulted in the seizure of Bitcoin, are currently ongoing at the Leipzig Regional Court, making the multi-billion Euro amount provisionally secured for this case.
- The sale of the confiscated Bitcoins from both the criminal proceedings in Saxony and the movie2k portal has attracted attention to Bitcoin operations in Saxony, Germany, with Justice Minister Katja Meier expressing gratitude for the successful disposal of the cryptocurrency.
