$113 Million in Dirty Crypto Cleaned by Frankfurt Prosecutors

(Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors in the German state of Hesse tapped a local bank to “clean” cryptocurrencies worth about 100 million euros ($113 million) they seized in a criminal case against three drug traders.

The anti-cybercrime unit of the Frankfurt General Prosecutor turned to Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG, a specialist in digital assets, to return the cryptocurrency to regular circulation, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The pair said they will cooperate in future criminal cases to put confiscated cryptocurrencies back into the markets.

The 100 million worth of digital currency was sold within a week earlier this month, Bankhaus Scheich said.

“As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges,” the Frankfurt-based lender said. The process now established “ensures that trading partners are informed that the currencies are back in legal possession and have been declared ‘clean,’ allowing them to be sold.”

The proceeds from the crypto sale will now be transferred to the state government budget. 

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