The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of Ireland has successfully retrieved 500 Bitcoin, equivalent to €30 million, previously deemed lost due to inaccessible keys. This achievement came through a collaborative effort with Europol, which provided critical technical support and decryption tools, marking a significant breakthrough as authorities managed to access one of the previously blocked wallets.
Details of the Seizure
The seized Bitcoin is part of a larger stash, with an estimated total of 6000 BTC (about €360 million) held across multiple wallets. These assets were confiscated from Clifton Collins, who was convicted of cannabis cultivation. Collins began investing in Bitcoin in the early 2010s when the cryptocurrency was valued much lower than it is today.
To secure his investments, Collins spread his Bitcoin across 12 wallets, storing the access codes in a paper note hidden in a fishing rod case at one of his rental properties. Following his arrest, he reported that the case went missing, potentially stolen or lost during property cleanup. Although authorities seized his devices in 2019, they could not access the wallets without the codes.
