High Court freezes €52m worth of Bitcoin seized by CAB

A man has been made to forfeit Bitcoin worth €52m by the High Court.

The cryptocurrency was discovered by the Criminal Assets Bureau as part of an investigation three years ago into the sale and supply of drugs.

It is understood that the €52m in bitcoin represents the largest single-value asset ever seized by CAB since it began operating in 1996.

In February 2017, a 4×4 driven by Clifton Collins, with an address in Crumlin in Dublin, was stopped by gardaí in the Sally Gap area of the Wicklow Mountains.

During a search of the vehicle a small amount of cannabis was seized. 

In a follow up search at a property in Corr na Móna in Co Galway, cannabis plants were discovered, worth around €450,000.

Gardaí also became aware of the existence of a quantity of the cryptocurrency bitcoin, owned by the now 49-year-old, and CAB was called in.

Following an investigation in August 2017, CAB officers established he held around 6,000 bitcoin, in which it is believed he invested at…