Court of Toronto Ordered the Drug Dealer to Forfeit $1.4 Million Bitcoin to Ministry of the Attorney General
The court of Toronto, Canada has ruled the drug trader to give away his entire $1.4 million Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to the state Ministry of Attorney General. The amount of 281.41 BTC (worth around $1.4 million at press time) was utilized for performing illicit actions by the narcotics online named Matthew Phan. This is supposed to be one of the huge confiscation ever done in Canada, according to the report published on 3rd April by “The Star”.
Mathew Phan, was found guilty in December 2018 for smuggling and conducting mischievous activities such as importing weapons, drug trafficking, trading cocaine, and many unlawful activities.
Per the report, it is proclaimed that Justice Jane Kelly has ruled that the offender (Matthew Phan) should pay back 281.41 Bitcoins holding to the state. And the funds would be used towards the well-being and prosperity of the region. Justice Kelly also remarked that the sinner had tried to convince the forum that the entire amount was not consumed for carrying out unlawful actions rather he employed some funds to perform legal operations like trading digital assets on various cryptocurrency exchanges.
Justice Jane Kelly stated in the report that:
“It is a reasonable inference to draw that payment for such illegal narcotics sales was made using Bitcoin that was found in the digital wallet on Mr. Phan’s computer”.
Kelly further added that, out of 288 Bitcoins, a sum of 7.23 Bitcoins worth around $36,000 was not considered to be the result of any criminal activity and hence the amount will not be forfeited. However, Phan is yet to be sentenced.
This court trial gained the attention of media and subsequently Quadrigacx, a trading platform disintegrated. The company is liable to pay approximately 190 million dollars to its stakeholders. Apart from this, the Canadian prosecutors have ruled to freeze $22 million in ICO tokens issued by Vanbex (local consulting firm) as it is reported that the high officials of the company are using the profits for their personal gains.
