Aussie police accused of stealing 81 Bitcoins during raid: report
Australia's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has accused a federal police officer of stealing a Trezor hardware wallet containing 81.62 bitcoins (BTC) at a crime scene. Authorities are relying on crypto-tracking software to say he transferred the bitcoins into his possession.
According to a recent report, Australian police hardware found the wallet during a drug raid at a residence, but waited three weeks to get court permission to enter their home. However, when they entered the wallet, there were no bitcoins, according to federal agent William Whitley, who said he had moved them shortly after the raid.
At the time of the 2019 raid, the hardware wallet was 81.62 bitcoins, worth 309,000. However, as of press time, it is worth an estimated $4.2 million.
Cyber Crime Squad Detective Sergeant Deon Achtipis said authorities initially believed an associate of a crime syndicate was responsible for the Bitcoin theft.
Related: South Korean authorities raid Upbit, Bithumb crypto exchanges after political scandal
The suspicion stems from the fact that the police force found a device containing the genealogy of the hardware wallet, which is a sequence of 12 to 24 random words that can be used as a recovery method if the wallet is stolen or lost.
However, after an extensive investigation into the IP addresses used to access the stolen bitcoins, using crypto-detection software, Achtips reportedly found a connection to Whitley.
“I came up with the idea that a police officer might be involved in cryptocurrency activity.”
Enforcement authorities around the world are adopting crypto tracing software to crack down on illegal activity with digital assets.
In August 2023, Canadian police announced that they began using Chinalysis Reactor software to track illegal crypto transactions.
Additionally, the advancement of crypto detective software technology is leading to higher stolen crypto rates. On January 29, Cointelegraph reported that more than 600 large-scale crypto hacks have returned more than $674 million by 2023.
#PeckShieldAlert 2023 saw over 600 major hacks in the crypto space, resulting in ~$2.61B in losses, with $674.9M recovered. $1.51B was lost to hacking (not including #Multichain unauthorized withdrawals) and $1.1B to fraud. This represents a 27.78% decrease from 2022. #DeFi protocols remain mainstream… pic.twitter.com/G7PIU3WyrX
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) January 29, 2024
Meanwhile, Wheatley is pleading not guilty to allegations that he used his position as a public officer for personal gain, theft and involvement in the proceeds of crime.
He is said to be ready to contest the charges against the stolen bitcoins from the Trezor wallet. This comes after Trezor discovered a security breach affecting around 66,000 users.
On January 20, Cointelegraph reported that Trezor had accessed an unauthorized third-party support portal on Jan. 17, and the company warned that individuals engaged with Trezor's support team could have their data compromised starting in December 2021.
Magazine: $3.4B Bitcoin in a Popcorn Can: The Story of the Silk Road Hacker
