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Telegraph reports that Sweden is required to return approximately $1.5 million worth bitcoin to a dealer in drugs.
The fluctuating bitcoin price caused the unusual turn of events.
36 bitcoins were taken from their owners two years ago. They are worth three bitcoins today, compared to 36 bitcoins back then.
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According to Telegraph, the Swedish government has been ordered to return approximately $1.5 million worth of bitcoin to a dealer in drugs. This is due to the fact that the value of the digital asset increased while he was being held.
The fluctuating price of the largest cryptocurrency in the world was the reason for the unusual turn of events.
Telegraph reports that 36 bitcoins were seized by the Swedish Enforcement Authority from a drug dealer two years ago. The coins had a cumulative value of around $136,000 according to Telegraph. Each bitcoin is now worth approximately $3,700
Prosecutor Tovekullberg successfully argued that the illegally acquired bitcoin should be confiscated from the drug dealer. Kullberg used the monetary equivalent at the time to support her case, but she did not anticipate the rapid growth in bitcoin's value.
Bitcoin was worth $48,978 per coin as of August 20. Bitcoin has risen 66% in the last year and 313% over the past twelve months. Only three bitcoins are now equivalent to the 36 bitcoins that the dealer had two years ago.
The Telegraph reported that authorities were planning to auction all 36 coins. However, Kullberg's arguments in the prosecution showed that the state only had three coins worth.
According to the prosecution, 33 bitcoins had to be returned by the government - approximately $1.6 million at the time of publication - even though the government knew full well about the illegal origin of the funds.
Kullberg expressed regret at this outcome and told Swedish Radio that it was "unfortunate for many reasons."
Kullberg stated that "the lesson to be learnt from this is to keep bitcoin's value, that the profit of the crime should be 36 Bitcoin, regardless how much bitcoin has at the moment," Kullberg said. It has had consequences that I didn't anticipate at the time.
However, the prosecutor stated that this case was unique in that it involved cryptocurrency seizure. There was no precedent established by any previous cases.
She stated that she believes it was a good idea to invest in internal education for the [prosecution] authority as cryptocurrency will be an issue we will have to deal with in a greater way than we do today. "The fewer mistakes we make, the more we can increase our knowledge in the organization."
Companies and regulators are becoming more concerned about crimes involving cryptocurrency. Recently, the Bank for International Settlement has criticized the role of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities.
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