Cryptocurrencies continue to be involved in interesting events in every field. We will keep seeing things that make us wonder how they could happen. Cryptocurrency has shed its image as the “single asset” used by criminals and is now seen worldwide as a risky but reasonable investment.
Police Officer Faces Bitcoin Embezzlement Charges
The Australian National Anti-Corruption Commission noticed an interesting detail in their crypto intelligence/analysis tool. A recent report revealed that an Australian police officer embezzled Bitcoin (BTC) during a drug operation.
While waiting for a court order to empty a wallet found at a drug dealer’s house, one of the officers transferred the assets to his own account. It was later discovered that $309,000 worth of assets were moved after the operation.
Detective Sergeant Deon Achtypis from the cybercrime unit initially suspected that gang members were involved, but it turned out that the culprit was one of their own.
Details of the Incident
The fact that the gang member’s account was emptied while the wallet was in custody raised suspicions. The investigation that started with this suspicion led to the discovery of the device containing the seed phrase (a 12-24 word wallet recovery phrase).
The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s attention to the stolen assets revealed a connection to the institution, but Wheatley is preparing to contest these allegations. While this incident may seem like a corruption story at first glance, it points to the results of blockchain monitoring tools.
The transfer of the wallet’s assets to the Binance exchange was detected using this blockchain monitoring tool. When Binance was contacted, it became clear who had emptied the assets. This can also be confirmed by tracing past bank account transactions.
If the police officer had sold these assets over-the-counter (OTC), detection would have been more difficult, but not impossible. We are now entering a new era where cryptocurrencies are widely adopted globally, and state agencies fighting crime have access to advanced blockchain intelligence and analysis tools.
This opens a new chapter both in the use of crypto for criminal proceeds and in tax evasion. Exchanges’ motivation to share customer information after heavy penalties will lead to extensive work by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and other agencies in the future.
