Rotterdam District Court Seizes 2,532 BTC and €250,000 from Couple
The Rotterdam District Court in the Netherlands has convicted a couple of laundering proceeds from illegal activity conducted on dark web platforms. The court successfully seized 2,532 bitcoin—valued at roughly $29 million—from the pair, who lived in the city of Hilversum.
The man and his wife received prison sentences for money laundering: the husband was sentenced to two years and the wife to two and a half years. Both defendants were also fined €45,000 each and ordered to forfeit €138,000 and $40,000.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service proved that the couple laundered more than €16 million (around $18.9 million) over two and a half years by showing that a large portion of the bitcoin in their possession originated from illicit dark web transactions.
“The traders from Hilversum bought bitcoin for millions of euros in cash from private individuals and businesses. These bitcoin transactions were not reported to the tax authorities,” the court said.
The court’s statement explains how two separate sums—1,488 BTC and 1,044 BTC—were seized from the defendants, along with €250,000 in cash. The judgment noted that the couple bought bitcoin to exchange large amounts of euros in cash with private sellers and companies. These exchanges were not disclosed to Dutch authorities and were conducted using methods that preserved client anonymity.
“The traders did not ask clients for identification, and large amounts were often exchanged. The suspects, a man and his wife, contacted clients through online advertisements and a dark web marketplace. Much of the bitcoin traded bore traces of dark web activity,” the court added.
The court further explained that these exchanges typically took place in a fast-food restaurant in a major city and involved no due diligence or KYC (know your customer) procedures. That lack of oversight gives dark web criminals a major advantage, enabling them to convert bitcoin into fiat currency without the checks and controls applied by regulated cryptocurrency exchanges.
Finally, the court concluded that the bitcoin acquired by the couple carried residues of dark web activity. The cryptocurrency was widely connected to serious crimes—such as child sexual exploitation and contract killing—and is often used by authorities to trace and dismantle clandestine online markets.