Emily Walker
A judge in the UK has approved the confiscation of $4.3 million in Bitcoin (BTC) from a notorious British criminal known as “Don Car-Leone” after the individual failed to demonstrate that the cryptocurrency was obtained lawfully.
Allegations of Lawful Bitcoin Earnings by the Fugitive
Mr. Justice Timothy Mould of the UK High Court has allowed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to seize approximately £3.5 million in Bitcoin, equating to about $4.3 million, belonging to crime lord Alexander Surin, also referred to as “Don Car-Leone.”
Reports from The Telegraph indicate that Surin fled to Dubai following a 2015 drug trafficking conviction in France. The National Crime Agency (NCA) subsequently seized his luxury cars, cash, and various properties in London.
Surin and his wife previously acknowledged that the seized assets, totaling £4.5 million (around $5.6 million), were sourced from illegal activities. The criminal, notorious for his extravagant vehicle collection, reportedly possesses millions in Bitcoin stored in a Coinbase Kenya account.
Surin, however, asserts that his Bitcoin wealth originated from legitimate gold trading in Dubai. He contended that the cryptocurrency resulted from two sales made with a trader operating from modest venues within Dubai’s gold souk.
He claimed the trader does not maintain a website or any bookkeeping records for the transactions, operating instead on a foundation of trust and reputation.
Court Gives Green Light for Bitcoin Seizure
During the hearing, CPS representative Martin Evans KC presented the High Court with “compelling evidence” indicating that Surin’s funds were linked to criminal activities. Evans pointed to significant transfers into Surin’s Coinbase Kenya account from Christian Hargreaves, who was sentenced to 17 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
The CPS highlighted that Surin failed to provide adequate documentation to elucidate how he accumulated wealth following the seizure of his assets, aside from two forged invoices.
Evans further emphasized that both Surin and Hargreaves being British provided a necessary connection to England and Wales, thereby justifying the action to confiscate the Bitcoin assets in the Coinbase Kenya account.
In a response via email, Surin contested the CPS’s allegations, asserting that there was no evidence linking him to any wrongdoing that would classify the Bitcoin as proceeds of crime.
Nonetheless, Mr. Justice Mould dismissed Surin’s assertions, determining that the Bitcoin was indeed laundered money from illegal drug operations, thereby granting the CPS the authority to seize the digital assets:
The evidence put forth by the CPS indicates that these transactions were executed by Hargreaves with Surin’s knowledge to launder money acquired from illegal drug trafficking. Surin’s alternate explanation attributing these to legitimate gold sales lacks credibility when scrutinized against the CPS’s evidence.