A lack of precedent leads Swedish court to return 33 BTC after law enforcement seizure

Hacks • August 20, 2021, 5:15PM EDT
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A Swedish court has mandated that the country's government owes an alleged drug dealer more than $1.3 million in bitcoin due to the way in which law enforcement sold some of their seized crypto.

Swedish Law Enforcement seized the man's holdings of 36 BTC in connection with the offenses during proceedings, and a court valued the sum at 1.3 million Swedish kronor, or about $147,000. Prosecutors successfully argued that the accused should be stripped of that sum. 

However, law enforcement auctioned off the BTC only when the price had skyrocketed. By then, only 3 BTC covered the value the court ordered the man to pay in connection with his 36 BTC, as first reported by the Telegraph.

Because there was no established precedent on how to navigate fluctuating price of cryptocurrency in this context, the court returned the remaining 33 BTC. 

AUTHOR

Aislinn Keely profile picture Aislinn Keely

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.

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