London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Sweden gives three drug dealers back their Bitcoin worth €1.3 million

Sweden gives three drug dealers back their Bitcoin worth €1.3 million

Authorities will hand back the seized crypto after a prosecutor demanded the then-cash value of the tokens. It's now worth ten times as much.

Three convicted drug dealers will have over €1.3 million worth of Bitcoin returned to them by the Swedish government after a legal misstep saw prosecutors value the proceeds of their crime in Swedish Krona and not in crypto.

Prosecutor Tove Kullberg successfully charged the men in April 2019, arguing that 36 Bitcoin seized by Swedish police the year before should be confiscated as they were earned through their illegal online drug sales.

However, in her indictment, Kullberg converted the value of the cryptocurrency to Swedish krona, meaning the government was only legally entitled to seize the cash value of the Bitcoin at the time - roughly 1.3 million krona (€127,000).

"It is unfortunate in many ways," she told national broadcaster Sveriges Radio. "It has led to consequences I was not able to foresee at the time".

According to Kullberg, the case was among the first occasions Swedish prosecutors had been faced with handling the proceeds of crime denominated in cryptocurrency.

How did this happen?


After the men were sent to prison in May 2019, it fell to Sweden's State Enforcement Authority to auction off the proceeds of the drug crime, a process that took over two years to carry out.

In that time, the value of the 36 Bitcoin skyrocketed from roughly €130,000 to almost €1.5 million today.

"This means that when these Bitcoins are liquidated, there will be Bitcoin left over because the debt will be covered much faster," Kullberg told Sveriges Radio.

The men's debts will be covered by the sale of roughly three Bitcoin at today's prices, meaning the remaining balance of around 33 will be returned to them by the Swedish state.

‘A lack of guidance’


Kullberg told Sveriges Radio that the episode carried some important lessons for prosecutors dealing with cryptocurrency in the future.

"It is unfortunate that it has ended up this way. The lesson to be learned from this is to keep the value in Bitcoin. That the proceeds of crime are 36 Bitcoin, regardless of the value of the Bitcoin at the time," she said.

Kullberg also called for more training on cryptocurrencies to be given to criminal prosecutors, saying that at the time this case was handled there was an almost complete lack of guidance available.

"I think there should be investment in in-house training as cryptocurrency will be a factor to be reckoned with much more than it has been to date. As we increase knowledge within the organisation, the fewer mistakes will happen along the way," she told Swedish radio.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×