Dublin Man Arrested Over €6.5 Million Cryptocurrency Seizure

Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) arrested two men and a woman for selling illegal assets on the darknet market, promoting money laundering operations in Dublin. The seizure of cryptocurrencies worth €6.5m (£5.6m) occurred on August 8, 2024, leading to the seizure of luxurious assets.

Seizing of Luxurious asset

Gardai raided a home in north Dublin and captured Luxury watches, expensive cars, and cryptocurrency worth €6.5 million.

A Garda representative has stated,

“As part of an ongoing investigation being conducted at the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) into sale of illegal material on Darknet Markets and Money Laundering involving extensive use of cryptocurrencies, Detectives attached to the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB), supported by the Armed Support Unit, conducted a search of a residence in North County Dublin on the morning of 5th August 2024,”

According to the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) statement,

“They captured “substantial assets” such as Bitcoin and Monero, expensive watches estimated to be worth €120,000 (£100,000), and two high-end cars worth €220,000 (£190,000)”.

Who Was Involved?

Three individuals—two men and one woman — are suspected of crypto money laundering, and a 23-year-old man has been charged with three counts of money laundering.

However, a 32-year-old woman and 49-year-old man have been released from the court after being investigated for a while.

An alleged man named Kevin Daniel Andrei, a resident of Swordsm Country, Dublin, appeared in the Criminal Courts of Justice on Thursday.

The GNCCB’s det Garda Ciaran Byrne claimed that Mr. Andrei had not responded to the accusation and had been warned and imprisoned at Kevin Street Garda station.

Are There Any Solid Foundation For Imposed Charges?

The three money laundering charges were based on his concealing the source and nature of 42 separate Binance transactions between March 2021 and September 2022.

Which had a value of more than €34,000, considering that the transactions were profits of illicit activity.

Two additional charges of more than €22,000 were imposed on him for Wirex transactions, and the final charges were due to hiding the source of approximately 1800 Revolut transactions worth more than €227,000.

These transactions were linked to illegal activities that were carried out between February 2021 and June 2024.

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Remarks of Det Spt Michael Mullen

The GNCCB’s Detective  Superintendent  Michael Mullen called it a “highly complex investigation” and added comments.

The Current Standing of Mr. Andrei’s Case

Mr. Andrei was given bail and is scheduled to return to court on October 3 as per the development.