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Policy

Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Scam Suspect Is Arrested by Dutch Police

The 39-year-old is suspected of laundering tens of millions of euros obtained from malicious software using decentralized exchange Bisq and privacy coin monero, police say.

By Jack Schickler
AccessTimeIconSep 14, 2022 at 8:16 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 3:43 p.m. UTC
(George Pachantouris/Getty Images)
(George Pachantouris/Getty Images)
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A 39-year-old man was arrested last week in the Netherlands on suspicion of laundering funds stolen using malicious software that purported to be linked to crypto wallet service Electrum.

The unidentified man was held in Veenendaal, about 35 miles southeast of Amsterdam, and was released on Sept. 8. He remains a suspect and his crypto has been seized, Dutch cyber police said in a Tuesday statement.

“Cryptocurrency, like ordinary money, is vulnerable to all kinds of crime,” the police said. “The anonymous and cross-border nature of cryptocurrency affords opportunities for criminals.”

According to the police, the suspect had laundered tens of millions of euros (tens of millions of U.S. dollars) and had sought to cover his tracks using privacy coin monero (XMR) and decentralized exchange Bisq. He was identified through bitcoin (BTC) transactions.

In a bid to curb money laundering, the European Union recently passed new measures to make it harder to stay anonymous when using crypto. Jurisdictions such as the U.K. and France are also seeking to make it easier for police to seize crypto assets during investigations.

Read more: Someone Just Lost $16M in Bitcoin by Using a Malicious Install of the Electrum Wallet

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Jack Schickler
Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He doesn’t own any crypto.

Follow @jackschickler on Twitter

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