UK Police Force Gets $665K Bitcoin Windfall From Seizures

In brief

A UK police force has received a $665,000 (£500,000) windfall after seized Bitcoin soared in value.
Thieves had converted stolen money into Bitcoin before it rose in value—but British law prevents victims from being overpaid.
Lancashire Police will allocate the money to a special crime-fighting fund.

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"Crime doesn't pay," the old saying goes, but a police force in northern England may beg to differ.

Lancashire Constabulary has revealed that it's received a $665,000 (£500,000) windfall after seizing Bitcoin from thieves.

The case dates back to December 2017, when detectives received reports that money had been stolen.

An investigation later revealed the funds had been converted into Bitcoin, which had hit $20,000 for the first time in that same month.

By the time the wallets holding this ill-gotten crypto had been frozen, BTC had risen substantially in value.

This meant that the victim could be compensated in full—but British law does not allow them to be overpaid.

Once the Bitcoin was liquidated, and the victim made whole, Lancashire Constabulary was left with a £1m ($1.3m) surplus to reckon with.

It's now been announced that the police force will receive half of these proceeds in a few months, which will be allocated to a special crime-fighting fund. The other half is going to be sent back to the UK government.

According to a statement, this fund has previously been used to purchase drones, invest in spam call blocking devices, and finance community projects designed to clamp down on anti-social behavior.

It's hoped the investment will help "disrupt the cycle of crime and prevent future offences."

Detective Sergeant David Wainwright, from the force's Economic Crime Unit, said: "This is a great result for the people of Lancashire, and hopefully the first of many future uses of this new legislation.

"It's unusual for the criminal property to rise in value to more than that of the original crime, but this has allowed us to fully compensate the victim, with some spare that can be used to reduce crime."

Those involved in the theft, who were all from Lancashire, have been sentenced for their part in the crime.