The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) conducted the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the country’s history, confiscating assets worth over 56 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to $40.5 million). Law enforcement also shut down the cryptocurrency exchange TradeOgre, which is suspected of facilitating money laundering, following reports from European partners about possible illegal activities.
This is reported by Finway
Reasons for Closing TradeOgre and Investigation Details
According to the police, the exchange failed to comply with anti-money laundering requirements and became a platform for criminal organizations. A key advantage of TradeOgre was the ability to create accounts without undergoing identification, which significantly complicated tracking the source of funds and attracted criminal entities to the platform. Among the confiscated assets are Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Tron, and Qubic.
“Investigators have reason to believe that most of the funds transacted through TradeOgre originate from criminal sources,” the police statement said.
On TradeOgre’s official website, there is currently a notice about its confiscation by the Canadian police. Meanwhile, users on Reddit began complaining about the platform’s inaccessibility several months ago, suspecting fraud regarding fund withdrawals. One user reported being unable to access an order worth approximately 25,000 USDT.
Tracking Fund Movements and Next Steps
The analytical company Arkham Intelligence actively monitored the movement of cryptocurrencies on TradeOgre when large sums began to be withdrawn en masse from the exchange. Experts note that the platform allowed trading of anonymous coins that conceal transaction origin information, further complicating the detection of criminal activity. The RCMP has already stated that all obtained transaction data will be thoroughly analyzed, and the investigation is ongoing, with the possibility of new charges being filed.
“The transaction data obtained from the platform will be analyzed, and charges may be filed. The investigation is ongoing.”
It is worth noting that recently, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, Tether, has already collaborated with the RCMP and helped recover approximately 460,000 USDT linked to a fraudulent investment scheme.