Yirikovsky tried to hide from the police, climbing the roof of his house during a search, the Czech media write. Law enforcement officers managed to get an entrepreneur from the roof and detain. The Prosecutor General of Radim Dragoon said that the case of donation of bitcoins was allocated in a separate production – it is assumed that Yirikovsky donated a 468 BTC blessed to avoid a new prison term. Then these coins cost about $ 45 million.
According to law enforcement officers, the Czech programmer Yirikovsky, who launched the Sheep MarketPlace darknetplace in early 2013 for drug trafficking, weapons and counterfeit products, was able to earn 680 BTC. After the platform was closed in December of the same year, Yirikovsky assigned 841 BTC from buyers and sellers, thus “putting up the condition” of at least 1,500 bitcoins.
In 2017, the Brnensky Regional Court sentenced Yirikovsky to nine years in prison for theft of assets, drug trafficking and illegal weapons. In 2021, the man received parole, having served only half the term and gone for good behavior.
The Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic did not return the Bitcoin darknn-market for customers, but sold the BTC at the auction. It was planned to spend funds on combating drug use in prisons and improving housing conditions for prison personnel. The story that the whims took a donation from a convicted drug dealer caused a public scandal and the policy had to resign.
According to Bitcoin analyst Lucien Bourdon from Trezor, which is engaged in the production of hardware wallets, the case with Yirikovsky proves that criminal activity with BTC can be easily monitored in the blockchain.
“Ordinary people have the opportunity to maintain confidentiality, but if you are a criminal or representative of the authorities, bitcoin is not entirely suitable for inconspicuous transfer of money. Large transfers can always be tracked. Imagine if every fiat transaction with the participation of the authorities would be just as transparent. It is to such accountability that we should strive, ”said Burdon.
Earlier, a member of the Board of the National Bank of the Czech Republic, Jan Kubicek, called for time to wait with the addition of bitcoin to state reserve due to the ambiguity in the regulation of cryptocurrencies and their high volatility.
Source: Bits
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