German authorities have “blocked” dozens of crypto exchange that are believed to be creating loopholes for criminals to thrive.
German government orders 47 crypto exchange to close
The Frankfurt am Main Public Prosecutor’s Office (Generalstaatsanwaltschaft) and the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) have shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges, accusing them of involvement in criminal activity, including money laundering.
Some exchanges have deliberately failed to comply with KYC and background checks. Some have been operating since 2012, while others have only recently launched.
The list of closed exchanges is posted on the Final Exchange portal, the most prominent of which are the following platforms:
- Xchange.cash – 410,000 users and 1,280,000 transactions
- 60cek.org – 300,000 users and 900,000 transactions
- Bankcomat.com – 250,000 users and 760,000 transactions
- Banksman.com – 280,000 users and 750,000 transactions
- Prostocash.com – 265,000 users and 470,000 transactions
- Multichange.net – 185,000 users and 430,000 transactions
Authorities accused the exchanges of deliberately concealing the origins of criminal proceeds on a large scale. During the investigation, the government seized customer and transaction data.
However, because the people behind this activity often live in countries outside Germany, prosecution is difficult. Instead, the authorities will focus on "weakening" the infrastructure behind these illegal activities.
So far, no arrests have been reported in connection with the crackdown. However, law enforcement officials say the teams behind the blocked exchanges will face charges of money laundering and operating an illegal platform on the internet. Under sections 127 and 261 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), they could face years in prison.
Since the beginning of this year, the BKA has seized 49,857 Bitcoins (BTC), worth up to $2.17 billion , from the gang operating the website Movie2k.to, which was shut down for copyright infringement in 2013. This is XEM the largest crypto asset seizure in German history.
Selling pressure began to lurk in the crypto market when Germany publicly liquidated this huge amount of coins in July. At that time, the “ghost” of refunds from Mt. Gox exchange further plunged the market into difficulties.
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