Crypto Worth $6.4M Seized in Australia

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has seized $6.4M (AUD 9.3 million) worth of digital assets from the brain behind the Ghost platform.

According to the AFP media release on Oct. 2, the seizure is part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the mastermind behind the encrypted messaging platform. Moreover, the authorities extracted important information from the suspect’s digital wallets stored on hardware devices.

Australia’s Operation Kraken Results. | Source: AFP Press Release

The Ghost Messaging Platform

According to the AFB, criminal organizations frequently utilized Ghost, a highly encrypted messaging service, to plan illegal operations like money laundering and drug trafficking. Due to its sophisticated encryption capabilities and self-destructing messages, organized crime groups loved to use it.

However, security operatives took down the platform last month following a thorough two-year investigation led by Europol and several law enforcement organizations, such as the Australian Federal Police. This development represents a major win in the struggle against criminal networks that hide behind encrypted technology.

Australian Police Celebrates Operation Kraken’s Success

In connection with the AFP’s ongoing “Operation Kraken” operation, a 32-year-old man from the Sydney suburb of Narwee was taken into custody on Sept. 17. Among the five accusations against him was aiding a criminal organization.

It is worth noting that this operation is unrelated to the well-known cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The suspect was arrested after security operatives successfully decrypted the suspect’s seed phrases, a crucial step in obtaining his cryptocurrency assets.

Experts from Australia’s Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) examined hardware wallets discovered at his home. Then, they were able to access and transfer the tokens to safe storage.

This arrest is the second notable crypto seizure under Operation Kraken, the first being the seizure of assets connected to a Western Australian crime syndicate worth AUD 2 million ($1.4 million). Acting Commander Scott Raven stressed that illicit gains made by criminals would be identified, seized, and rendered worthless, regardless of the medium through which such assets are held, whether real estate, cash, or digital currency.

Operation Kraken has produced massive results since its inception in 2022, including 46 arrests, 93 search warrant executions, and the prevention of 50 possible threats to life. In addition, the operation has confiscated 11.09 million AUD ($7.6 million) in various other assets and 2.37 million AUD ($1.6 million) in cash from scammers and their associates.