January 31, 2024 at 05:37PM
German police in Saxony have seized 50,000 Bitcoins from the former operator of movie2k.to, worth over $2.1 billion, marking a record figure in the country’s law enforcement. The platform faced legal challenges and was linked to piracy. The suspects voluntarily transferred the Bitcoin to the authorities, and the final decision for its utilization is pending.
From the provided meeting notes, here are the key takeaways:
– The police in Saxony, eastern Germany, have seized a record 50,000 Bitcoin (worth over $2.1 billion at current exchange rates) from the former operator of the pirate site movie2k.to through a voluntary deposit to a state-controlled wallet.
– Movie2k was a platform operating between 2008 and 2013, providing links to stream or download movies and TV shows but not hosting any copyright-protected material. It faced legal challenges and eventually shut down in May 2013 following legal action by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
– Law enforcement authorities in Germany identified a 40-year-old German and a 37-year-old Polish individual as the operators behind Movie2k, who voluntarily transferred acquired Bitcoin to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
– The Bitcoin amounts are thought to have been acquired from profits made through the operation of Movie2k, like advertising revenue and membership subscriptions. The operators aggressively exchanged fiat money with Bitcoin, possibly in anticipation of the legal risks of running a large-scale pirate platform.
– The authorities, including the Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office, the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, and the tax investigation of the Leipzig II Tax Office, provisionally secured almost 50,000 Bitcoins in mid-January 2024, marking the most extensive security of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date.
– The final decision for the utilization of the substantial amount of seized Bitcoin is pending.
– Finally, one of the two suspects was linked to ‘mega-downloads.net,’ and in August 2020, the site’s programmer admitted his involvement and handed over $25 million-worth of Bitcoin to the authorities.
These are the main points extracted from the meeting notes.