Crypto and Piracy: In New Zealand Police Seize $8M

Police of Waikato, New Zealand has confiscated a considerable sum in crypto. The funds belong to an alleged movie pirate, Jaron David McIvor.

On November 23, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported that the local police seized crypto worth 6.7 million New Zealand dollars (4.2 million US dollars). They also removed  1.1 million New Zealand dollars (700,000 US dollars) in fiat money. This happened in the framework of the criminal process known as CPRA.

CPRA is a civil process. During it, a high court judge has to decide if someone has accumulated wealth and profits as a result of criminal activity. If this is the case, the judge may order the freezing and confiscation of any assets in connection with the alleged criminal activity.

To that end, New Zealand police suspect that McIvor is involved in money laundering. They claim he received millions of dollars from an illegal streaming movie website that he helped create.

Movie piracy?

The story started in 2016 when the local police got a warning from the US Revenue Service. It was concerning a man, Jaron David McIvor, living in New Zealand. He was purportedly managing a website with piracy content. Subsequently, the police discovered numerous transactions between the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Vietnam and McIvor.

“This outcome reflects the importance of these international partnerships and also demonstrates the capability of our investigators to prevent and respond to cyber-crime and money laundering, which are often unbounded by geography,” policeman Richard Chambers says.

So far, there is not enough evidence to arrest McIvor who denies his involvement.

Money laundering with crypto is a cause of headache for many parties, especially the authorities. The anonymity of the industry makes it extremely difficult to track financial flows in cryptocurrency.

Earlier, Altcoin Buzz reported that president of payment processor company Crypto Capital, Ivan Manuel Molina Lee, has found himself in custody of the Polish police.

 

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