Virtual currency|90 percent of the bitcoins currently in the possession of the Customs are related to one criminal case under preliminary investigation.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Customs seized 1,666 bitcoins in 2016 from drug dealing on the Tor network.
In the summer of 2022, Customs sold 1,889 bitcoins and generated approximately EUR 46.5 million in revenue for the state.
Customs is currently in possession of approximately 94 bitcoins, worth approximately EUR 7.8 million.
The state directed the money from the previous bitcoin seizure to Ukraine.
Virtual currency bitcoin’s course has risen sharply during this year.
The course has been winging it lately Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States. During the election, he promised to make the United States the world’s leading “crypto center”.
Bitcoin’s price rise reflects the high expectations of crypto-investors, which they are now targeting the Trump administration starting in January.
Price rise has also increased the value of bitcoins held by Finnish customs.
Customs’ communication says that Customs currently has around 94 bitcoins confiscated. 90 percent of them are related to one criminal case under preliminary investigation.
The value of one bitcoin now corresponds to approximately 83,233 euros. Customs has therefore confiscated approximately 7.8 million euros worth of bitcoins.
According to customs, however, only slightly more than two bitcoins have been given a legally binding judgment for forfeiture to the state. The value of the bitcoins awarded to the state is currently only 166,466 euros.
Customs could not even theoretically sell other bitcoins for the time being, because there is no legally binding judgment on forfeiture to the state.
In addition to bitcoin, other virtual currencies have also remained in the sights of the Customs. However, their quantities and value are small compared to bitcoins, according to the communication of the Customs.
“The total value is calculated in tens of thousands of euros.”
Customs in recent years, compared to previous years, small amounts of virtual currencies have ended up in their possession.
So far, the biggest confiscation of virtual currencies by the Customs is from 2016, when 1,666 bitcoins ended up in its possession. They came from a man who ran a drug deal in the anonymous Tor network.
In the following years, the amount of bitcoins held by Customs increased by another 223 bitcoins.
In the summer of 2022, Customs started selling it the 1,889 bitcoins accumulated through seizures. With the sales, Customs generated a total revenue for the state around 46.5 million euros.
The state directed the money for Ukraine. The money was intended to be used for both humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Bitcoin the value hovered around 22,000 euros at the end of July 2022, when Customs was able to realize all of its 1,889 bitcoins that had been forfeited to the state.
Bitcoin’s price has now risen by around 278 percent since that moment. If the Customs had sold the bitcoins during this autumn, they would have accumulated a roughly estimated sales revenue of more than 150 million euros for the state.
At the time of the previous giant seizure by customs in 2016, the value of one bitcoin was around 600 euros. The value of the virtual currency had already risen wildly when Tulli finally realized its bitcoins.