UK police have selected Komainu custodian service to store confiscated digital assets. The service was developed by Nomura Holdings in conjunction with Ledger and CoinShares.
Police in the English county of Derbyshire said they are working with custodian Komainu in the implementation of a program to combat cybercrime. The program also aims to raise awareness among police officers about cryptocurrencies, how they can be used by criminals, and what opportunities tools like Komainu open to operational authorities. The service, licensed by Jersey regulators in November 2019, will store cryptocurrencies confiscated by police during crime investigations.
Several years ago, the National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that the likelihood of money laundering through cryptocurrencies is “relatively low.” However, the British police noted that cases of confiscation of digital assets in the country have increased, as have their volumes. So, six months ago, the UK authorities seized $ 2.29 million belonging to the local “cryptocurrency drug lord” Paul Johnson. Therefore, the police need secure options for storing confiscated cryptocurrencies.
“A significant part of cybercrime in the country is related to virtual assets. We need a special storage solution because of the large amount of money involved, ”said Phil Ariss, UK Cybercrime Program Manager.
He added that earlier, law enforcement agencies used different options for storing seized crypto assets, but their safety was not guaranteed. The police were forced to look for other solutions, and settled on the Komainu custodian service, considering it the most secure. This selection has been approved by Gentium, a UK-based law enforcement cybersecurity consultancy.
CoinShares CEO and Komainu Director Jean-Marie Mognetti said the service will become a secure “vault” for confiscated cryptocurrencies, and CoinShares will help convert them to fiat currency in the event of a successful prosecution. According to Mognetti, Komainu is well suited for this purpose, as the service was created specifically for institutions. When a product is developed for institutional investors, it can also be used by government agencies.
Recall that at the beginning of 2019, Wilsons Auctions in Northern Ireland held the first online auction in the UK, selling 167.69 XMR seized from criminals.
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