RCMP claim record cryptocurrency seizure of $56M in money laundering probe

The RCMP on Thursday said it seized more than $56 million from a cryptocurrency exchange platform authorities accuse of facilitating money laundering, calling it the largest crypto seizure in Canadian history.

“This also marks the first time that a cryptocurrency exchange platform has been dismantled by Canadian law enforcement,” the RCMP’s Eastern Region federal policing division, based in Montreal, said in a statement.

The Canadian investigation into TradeOgre began in June 2024, following a tip from the European Union’s policing agency Europol to the RCMP’s money laundering division.

According to the RCMP, investigators found TradeOgre violated Canadian laws and regulations by not registering with Fintrac as a money services business and did not identify its clients.

“Investigators have reason to believe that the majority of funds transacted on TradeOgre came from criminal sources,” the RCMP statement said.

“The main attraction of this type of platform, which doesn’t require users to identify themselves to make an account, is that it hides the source of funds. This is a common tactic used by criminal organizations that launder money.”

Police added “charges may follow” after the transaction data obtained from the platform is analyzed.

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Messages seeking comment from TradeOgre were not responded to Thursday.

Concerns about TradeOgre going “radio silent” and offline began circulating on Reddit in late July, with asset holders complaining they could no longer access funds or get in contact with the platform.

Around that time, according to the cryptocurrency analysis publication The Rage, all funds from TradeOgre were transferred to “an address allegedly controlled by the Canadian government.” The transaction included the message “Crypto assets controlled by the RCMP,” the post said.

TradeOgre appears to have been popular with users of Monero, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that advertises itself as “secure, private, untraceable.”

According to an analysis by BitDegree, TradeOgre was launched in 2018 with headquarters based in California.

Although it could not share current data on the platform due to “exchange inactivity,” the analysis said it had a trading volume of over US$1.9 billion in the last seven days.

It saw zero dollars of trading in the last 24 hours.

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