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Finland has sold 1,889 bitcoins seized in drug cases for 46.5 million euros ($47.4 million). The country’s finance minister previously said that proceeds from the bitcoin sale will go to Ukraine for humanitarian aid and reconstruction as the war with Russia continues.
Finnish Customs (aka Tulli), the customs agency of the Finnish government, announced on Thursday that it has sold “legally forfeited” bitcoins.
“During the summer, the Finnish Customs Service realized its cryptocurrencies had been legally forfeited to the state,” the announcement detailed, elaborating:
The realization was for 1,889.1 bitcoins. The state received around 46.5 million euros in total in revenue from their sale.
Customs explained that the bitcoins were seized “in connection with the investigation of offenses related to drugs and doping agents”.
The coins “were sold by the two cryptocurrency brokers selected by Customs through competitively negotiated procedure in late spring,” the announcement continues.
The Finnish Customs Service further revealed that around 90 bitcoins were still in its possession “pending a valid judgment on confiscation.” At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $22,874, down 10% over the past seven days but up 14.4% over the past 30 days.
Tulli added that they have also seized other cryptocurrencies. But since the investigation into these cases is ongoing, “the currencies or their amounts cannot be disclosed in detail,” Finnish customs explained, adding that they are worth “hundreds of thousands of euros at most.”
Tulli’s CFO Pekka Pylkkänen told Finnish news agency STT that most of the bitcoin seized and sold this summer (1,666 BTC) was confiscated in 2016 following the arrest of Finnish drug dealer Douppikauppa. In 2017, the Turku Court of Appeal sentenced the drug dealer to several years in prison.
Finnish Finance Minister Annika Saarikko said in May that proceeds from the sale of seized bitcoin would be used to benefit Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. She noted that the money will be used for humanitarian aid and reconstruction.
Pylkkänen told the news outlet that the state has already received the proceeds from the bitcoin sale, noting, “Apparently it’s going to Ukraine.”
What do you think about Finnish customs selling seized bitcoin and sending the proceeds to Ukraine? Let us know in the comments section below.
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