German law enforcement authorities have provisionally seized nearly 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $2.17 billion as part of an investigation into an illegal movie streaming website.
According to the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation involves two men suspected of operating the piracy portal and buying Bitcoin with the proceeds of their illegal activities.
“The ongoing investigations on suspicion of commercial unauthorized exploitation of copyrighted works under the Copyright Act and subsequent commercial money laundering are aimed, among other things, at two responsible persons (m, 40 years old, German; m, 37 years old, Polish) from a German piracy portal runs until the end of May 2013.”
Authorities secured the assets after one of the suspects voluntarily transferred the BTC to a digital wallet belonging to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The seizure is said to be the largest of its kind to date in Germany.
In August 2020, the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office said it was investigating the two main operators of the illegal streaming site Movie2k.to, which allegedly distributed more than 880,000 pirated films between 2008 and May 2013.
The duo is accused of using profits from advertising fees and subscriptions to buy huge amounts of Bitcoin.
Patrick Pintaske, spokesman for the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office, said the two men have not yet been charged.
According to the German Press Agency (DPA), Pintaske says:
“If charges are filed, the investigation will be closed.”
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