Australian cybercrime investigators have seized 52 bitcoins worth about 5.7 million Australian dollars, equivalent to about 4.1 million US dollars, during an investigation into an alleged dark web market operating out of Sydney, authorities said.
Singapore Summit: Meet the top APAC brokers you know (and those you don’t know yet!).
Police described the case as one of Australia’s largest cryptocurrency seizures linked to darknet activity. Process tracking Another big seizure in 2021when Victoria Police seized digital assets worth A$6.2 million from a separate alleged darknet investigation.
Sydney Darknet probe seizes Bitcoin
The latest seizure follows a 15-month investigation led by Strike Force Andalusia, a unit within the New South Wales State Police Command’s Cyber Crime Squad. Investigators said the operation focused on alleged criminal activity involving cryptocurrency transactions on the dark web.
Investigators later executed a search warrant at a property in Ingleburn, southwest of Sydney. During the raid, officers seized electronic devices and identified 52.3 Bitcoin Which police allege is linked to illegal activity on the dark web.
Authorities said that two men, aged 41 and 39, were able to reach the scene Digital wallet Related to money. Both are expected to face court proceedings later this year.
Police in New South Wales, Australia, have seized 52.3 bitcoins, worth about $4.1 million, after a 15-month investigation into an illegal darknet market. #$Bitcoin #Australian Police #Cryptocurrency confiscation #Darknet #Drug traffickinghttps://t.co/sjCNtCADd6 pic.twitter.com/131RkxPJhQ
— Bitcoin World Media (@ItsBitcoinWorld) May 8, 2026
AUSTRAC “tightens” oversight of the cryptocurrency sector
Detective Superintendent Matt Kraft said the seizure was “one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in the country’s history.” He added that the investigation showed that “criminal activity on the dark web is not anonymous.”
Kraft also said dark web markets remain a “major enabler of serious criminal activity.”
Meanwhile, Australian authorities continue to tighten oversight of the cryptocurrency sector. Earlier this year, the Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center, or AUSTRAC, said It was investigating more than 50 remittance and digital asset providers Regarding alleged failures in reporting and weaknesses in monitoring suspicious transactions.
This article was written by Tariq Sikdar at www.financemagnates.com.
Source link
