- Finnish customs has sold ₿1,889 it has held for over six years
- The haul came from multiple dar wek drug busts
- The proceeds of €46.5 million will be donated to Ukraine
Finnish customs have finally sold a huge bitcoin haul it has held since 2016, saying that the proceeds of €46.5 million ($47.35 million) will be donated to Ukraine in its battle against Russia. The customs service had intended to sell the bitcoin haul at the peak of the bull run in 2021 but never got clearance to do so, meaning it missed out on making the most of the haul, but at last the headache of what to do with its bitcoin stash is over with. The bitcoin was obtained through various stings on dark web sellers since 2016, and the fact that it has chosen to donate the money to Ukraine rather than use it for the betterment of its own people can be seen as a political statement.
Dark Web Busts Led to Bitcoin Haul
Since 2016, Finnish customs has been the beneficiary of some huge dark web drugs busts, most notably Sipulimarket in December 2020 and Silkkitie in May 2019, although their biggest results came back in 2016 when the dark web was flourishing; the arrest of dark net drugs lord Douppikauppa in September of that year resulted in it obtaining ₿1,666, 84% of its total haul.
The total amount of bitcoin held by Finnishh customs was ₿1,981, but according to a press release published yesterday ₿90 is still the subject of legal proceedings and so can’t be liquidated yet. However, ₿1,889.1 were sold by the two cryptocurrency brokers in “late spring” at a price of around €24,600 ($25,000) per coin.
Ukraine Will Benefit From Mass Sale
In April this year, Finnish Finance Minister Annika Saarikko tweeted that the imminent sale would see “tens of millions” of euros going to help Ukraine fight Russia:
Hallitus lahjoittaa @SuomenTulli takavarikoimien bitcoinien myynnin tuloutuksen ansiosta kymmeniä miljoonia Ukrainan auttamiseen. Historiallinen, yhteistyössä tehty päätös @VMuutiset& @Ulkoministerio.Ratkaisu oikeudentuntoinen ja hyvä.Kohdennus lisätalousarviossa lähiviikkoina.
— Annika Saarikko (@AnnikaSaarikko) April 27, 2022
There are also some amounts of fiat currency resulting from small amounts of bitcoin already sold over the years, which customs puts at “some hundreds of thousands of euros at most” without yet revealing the actual figure.
