- The AFP seized $9.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to an encrypted messaging platform used by criminals.
- A 32-year-old man from Narwee was arrested as part of Operation Kraken, facing multiple charges for promoting crime.
- The CACT used advanced methods to crack a crypto account, marking the second major asset restraint in recent weeks.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been able to confiscate $9.3 million in cryptocurrency as part of an ongoing investigation into an encrypted messaging service allegedly used by criminals. The operation was conducted by the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) and the alleged organizer of the platform known as ‘Ghost’ was targeted.
According to a recent report, the suspect, a 32-year-old man from Narwee, was then arrested on September 17 as part of the AFP’s wider Operation Kraken. He is charged with several offences including promoting a criminal organization. The seizure of the cryptocurrency was made possible after AFP investigators cracked the account’s ‘seed phrase’, a recovery password stored on digital devices seized during the probe. This was made possible for the task force to gain entry and safely protect the digital assets.
The cryptocurrency was confiscated under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to enable the Australian police to go after the criminals’ money. This is the second significant asset restraint under Operation Kraken in the last few weeks after a similar action was made against a syndicate in Western Australia at the beginning of September.
AFP Targets Crypto Assets
AFP Acting Commander Scott Raven emphasized that law enforcement has improved power in terms of identifying and seizing proceeds from crime. He emphasized that the AFP continues to search for other forms of ill-gotten wealth including those in Cryptocurrency, Cash and Properties. This is because, as Raven also pointed out, most criminals have the impression that whatever they do in the digital space cannot be tracked, but the AFP has been demonstrating otherwise.
Operation Kraken has been a massive operation against organized crime in which much has been accomplished. Police have arrested 46 suspects and executed 93 search warrants. The operation has thus acted on fifty threats to life, has stopped more than two hundred kilograms of drugs from being circulated in the society, and confiscated cash totaling to $2.37 million besides disarming criminals of thirty guns and other weapons.
The CACT is particularly important to this purpose as it comprises representatives of the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC, and the Australian Border Force. The task force has played a crucial role in the prevention of crimes and removal of criminal assets in Australia since 2012.
The assets are seized and placed in the Australian Financial Security Authority’s special fund. These funds are used to fund crime prevention activities and police activities in all parts of Australia. Future asset forfeitures are expected to be made in the next few weeks as the investigations of the Narwee suspect continue.
