Ukrainian prosecution teams, users from Russia and Russian-occupied territories bitcoin and cryptocurrency announced that they have seized a large number of assets belonging to over-the-counter (OTC) brokers who illegally facilitate their purchases.
Customers of these vendors were “able to convert cash and non-cash funds into cryptocurrencies without paying taxes,” according to a Ukrainian-language press release by the Prosecutor General’s Office on Tuesday that had little repercussions in the Western press.
It is unclear when the transactions took place or whether it was before or after Russia launched a war in Ukraine this winter.
Ukraine Seizes $3.39M of Russian Cryptocurrency Brokers
Authorities: 850,000 Euros, 470,000 US Dollars and 460,000 Ukrainian Hryvnia (for a total of approximately $1.67 million); 830 kilograms of silver; six pieces of land; and captured three flats.
The attorney general’s office said that these are all proceeds from illegal crypto trading. Assets with a total value of approximately $3.39 million were delivered to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency of Ukraine.
Prosecutors said local police are investigating the unnamed individuals on charges of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
The attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for further comment.
Last year, Ukrainian law enforcement reported that they had seized similar amounts of money from crypto over-the-counter crypto brokers that allegedly served the Russians and residents of Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republic, the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian-backed paramilitary units since 2014.