In Brief:
- 33 BTC out of 36, worth $1.5 million, which must be lawfully returned to its owner.
- A prosecutor highlights that case teaches valuable lessons about future crypto-related crimes.
The Swedish Government awarded $1.5 million of Bitcoin to a Jailed Drug Dealer who amassed the funds in illegal online sales.
According to U.K Newspaper The Telegraph, two years ago, a Swedish court convicted a man for earning 36 Bitcoins by selling drugs.
The prosecutor, Tove Kullberg, decided to use bitcoin’s equivalent value in fiat currency to make her case against the drug dealer.
Bitcoin price was much, much lower two years ago than it is today. The man’s earnings from drugs were around 1.3 million Swedish Kronor. The court judged that this amount to pay from the drug dealer for his criminal activities.
Over time Bitcoin price skyrocketed, and his crypto stash grew to a huge size. The Swedish Enforcement Authority task to auction the drug dealer bitcoins. The Authority has to sell 3 BTC to get the 1.3 million that the man needs to pay. At that time, that now leaves with 33 BTC worth $1.5 million, which must be lawfully returned to its owner.
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“It is unfortunate in many ways. It has led to consequences I was not able to foresee at the time,” Tove Kullberg said.
Kullberg adds that “The lesson to be learned from this is to keep the value in Bitcoin, that the profit from the crime should be 36 Bitcoin regardless of what value the Bitcoin has at the time.” She added that the mistake came about because this was the first time this type of case has been seen in Swedish legal history.
