UK Crypto Thieves Ordered to Repay $29 Million

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  • Three British crypto thieves have been ordered to repay over £23 million ($29 million) following their involvement in a significant laundering operation
  • The perpetrators exploited a vulnerability in an Australian cryptocurrency exchange to illicitly obtain substantial funds
  • The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has successfully secured confiscation orders to recover the criminal proceeds

Three British crypto thieves have been told to return more than £23 million ($29 million) after being convicted of laundering money through a high-value cryptocurrency scam. The defendants capitalized on a loophole within an Australian cryptocurrency exchange, enabling them to fraudulently acquire significant sums. The CPS, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, recently secured the ruling in a landmark case.

Trio Exploited Australian Exchange Vulnerability

Over a three-month span from October 2017 to January 2018, the scheme’s architect, James Parker, identified a flaw in the unnamed exchange’s system, allowing unauthorized withdrawals of vast amounts.

Parker extracted approximately $18 million worth of crypto assets, while his associates, Kelly Caton and Jordan Kane Robinson, withdrew $3.3 million and $2.1 million, respectively. Following a police investigation, Caton and Robinson were convicted of fraudulently obtaining millions and laundering the proceeds. In January 2023, they received sentences of four and a half years each.

Stephen William Boys, who facilitated the laundering process, was sentenced to six years in prison. Parker, the scheme’s mastermind, passed away in January 2021 before facing prosecution. 

CPS Celebrates Landmark Ruling

The CPS’s Proceeds of Crime Division, working closely with Lancashire Police and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, secured confiscation orders totaling $29.1 million, representing the available assets derived from the defendants’ criminal activities. Andrew Kerrigan of the CPS highlighted the case’s significance, stating, “Cyber-enabled crime presents an increasing threat to economic stability, but this case illustrates the reach of the CPS to target the proceeds of crime internationally.”

Kerrigan emphasized the importance of such recoveries, noting that in the past five years, £450 million ($554 million) has been reclaimed from convicted criminals, with £88 million ($108 million) returned to victims as compensation. 

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