Major Cryptocurrency Seizure in Australia
- 32-year-old suspect arrested in New South Wales during police raid
- Australian Federal Police (AFP) detailed the successful retrieval of funds after cracking a digital wallet seed phrase
- This incident marks the second major operation under the initiative named Operation Kraken
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has successfully seized approximately $6.4 million worth of cryptocurrency from an individual alleged to be the mastermind behind Ghost, a secretive communication platform favored by criminals.
On September 17, under the umbrella of Operation Kraken, authorities apprehended a 32-year-old male in New South Wales, who now faces five serious charges, including providing support to a criminal organization, according to an official statement from the AFP.
The operation’s success was significantly attributed to an AFP analytics expert who retrieved the digital wallets’ seed phrase from the suspect’s devices during a coordinated raid at his residence in Narwee.
The confiscated assets have been transferred to a secure cryptocurrency storage facility managed by the AFP and are currently restrained under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
This event marks the second seizure of cryptocurrency in the Operation Kraken campaign, which had previously identified crypto and property valued at nearly $1.4 million during an investigation into a suspected criminal syndicate in Western Australia.
Acting Commander Scott Raven stated, “The seizure of these assets demonstrates the technical prowess and authority that the AFP, alongside our partners from the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce, can exert in the fight against organized crime.”
Operation Kraken to date has led to 46 arrests, the execution of 93 search warrants, seizing 30 illegal firearms, capturing $1.6 million in cash, and restraining assets totaling $7.65 million.
Targeting the Ghost Communication Platform
Originally established nine years ago, Ghost became a significant concern for law enforcement only in 2022, paving the way for proactive measures against the platform.
The urgency for addressing the Ghost platform’s activities was underscored by the numerous criminal organizations associated with it. In 2022, intercontinental partners began focusing on Ghost, prompting the AFP to join a collaborative task force.
Europol, under a task force named OTF NEXT, worked alongside the FBI and French Gendarmerie, with participation from the AFP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Swedish Police Authority, Dutch National Police, Irish Garda Síochána, Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services, and the Icelandic Police.
As they worked within this task force, the AFP initiated Operation Kraken after successfully infiltrating Ghost. By modifying updates released by the suspect, which subsequently infected devices, they managed to access crucial evidence stored on these devices located in Australia.
According to AFP reports, a majority of suspected offenders utilizing Ghost are concentrated in New South Wales, with further activity detected in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).