German authorities seize $30 million worth of crypto from pirate streaming site
German authorities have seized €25 million (~$30 million) worth of bitcoin and bitcoin cash from now-shuttered pirate streaming site Movie2K.
The Dresden public prosecutor's office announced the news on Tuesday, saying that Movie2K was operated illegally and distributed over 880,000 pirated copies of movies and TV shows between 2008 and 2013.
Last November, German authorities arrested one of the two main operators of Movie2K, while the second operator is still on the run, said the prosecutor's office.
The two operators allegedly started buying bitcoins in mid-2012 from the cash they received from subscriptions and advertising fees. Movie2K was reportedly the 19th most-visited website in Germany in 2013 before it shut down. Movie4K has now replaced the website.
The operator, who is now in custody, bought over 22,000 bitcoins (currently worth about $260 million), said the prosecutor's office. Then from 2013 to 2016, they bought properties via crypto. Those properties have also reportedly been seized.
The prosecutor's office said it seized the crypto with help from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI.
