- Robbery Involved Machete and Toblerone Bar
- Cryptocurrency Seizure Process
- Court Verdict and Punishment
Scottish prosecutors have for the first time seized 23.5 Bitcoin from a man involved in a robbery that took place in March 2020 near Glasgow.
Robbery Involved Machete and Toblerone Bar
The court heard that three men broke into a home in the town of Blantyre, southeast of Glasgow. One of the men repeatedly beat a woman on the property with a personalized Toblerone bar before throwing her into a bedroom. The victim, who remains unnamed for legal reasons, testified that he woke up to find a man standing over him with a machete, forcing him to transfer Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency Seizure Process
Detective Inspector Craig Potter from Police Scotland’s Cyber Investigations unit mentioned that it was the first robbery in Scotland to involve tracing stolen cryptocurrency. Prosecutors used proceeds of crime legislation to seize and convert the stolen Bitcoins into cash.
Court Verdict and Punishment
The Edinburgh court agreed to convert 23.5 Bitcoin into a total of 109,601 British pounds (or 144,017 US dollars). John Ross Rennie, from whom the Bitcoins were seized, was convicted of possessing stolen goods and sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and six months of supervision.
This case marks a significant milestone in tackling cryptocurrency-related crimes in Scotland, demonstrating the use of advanced technology to trace and recover stolen assets.
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