The Cryptocurrency Section of the Carabinieri Anti-Counterfeit Money Command has successfully completed the first operation to convert confiscated assets into digital currencies into euros. The activity follows the seizure of Bitcoin and Monero, for a value of approximately 11 thousand euros, which occurred in January 2023, when the First Operational Section of Rome and the Cryptocurrency Section carried out eight precautionary measures against individuals, all resident in Naples , suspected of belonging to a criminal group dedicated to currency counterfeiting. The investigations, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Naples and conducted with the collaboration of Eurojust and Europol, are part of a broad investigative context that began in 2018, aimed at dismantling a distribution network of counterfeit banknotes through the Darkweb, Telegram channels and the transfer of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero on dedicated wallets. This was announced in a press release from the Army.
“During the operations, the seized cryptocurrencies – in particular Monero and Bitcoin, explains the note – had been transferred from the Cryptocurrency Section to dedicated wallets, through the use of techniques and software developed directly by the Specialized Department of the Force which allow the creation of wallet guaranteeing, in addition to high security, also special management of private keys and/or seed phrases.
The approach used by the Cryptocurrency Section ensures that no single operator has complete knowledge of the private key, thus eliminating a critical point of vulnerability and significantly increasing protection against cyber attacks.” “The cryptocurrencies, subject to seizure, were confiscated with decree issued by the Judicial Authority of Naples which – continues the note – ordered the conversion and transfer to the Single Justice Fund. Therefore, the Carabinieri of the Cryptocurrency Section together with personnel from the Italian Young Platform Exchange specifically appointed as judicial police auxiliaries to proceed with the conversion, proceeded with the transfer and exchange into euros for the subsequent deposit to the FOG of the sums subject to confiscation”.
“The peculiarity of this operation lies not only in its success and its pioneering nature, but also in the way in which it demonstrates the effectiveness of the Carabinieri in carrying out highly specialized operations also with new financial technologies. The Carabinieri , always attentive and vigilant in investigations on the sensitive topic of Cybercrime, recently carried out the first course in searches and seizures of digital currencies at the Istituto Superiore Tecniche Investigative of Velletri, with which it trained 25 operators already specialized in telematic investigations”, concludes the note.
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