An Australian man has been forced to surrender nearly $2.88 million (4.5 million AUD) worth of assets—comprising Bitcoin, a waterfront mansion, and a Mercedes-Benz—after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) claimed the items were potentially acquired through a crime. The seizure was made by the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), which announced the action in a statement issued on May 18. According to authorities, the case dates back to 2018 when Luxembourg law enforcement tipped off the AFP about suspicious Bitcoin transactions linked to the Queensland man. Investigators said they traced the activity back to earlier cyber offenses, including the theft of 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange in 2013. Although no criminal charges were filed over the Bitcoin theft, a court ruled that the assets in question could not be tied to any legitimate income, leading to the forfeiture order issued in April. Ties to Crime and Gaming Industry Data Leaks Local media reports identified the individual as Shane Stephen Duffy, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to fraud and hacking charges. He was convicted of selling stolen personal data belonging to players of the popular online game League of Legends. While Duffy was not directly involved in the 2011 cyberattack on Riot Games that exposed data from over 5 million users, prosecutors confirmed he had obtained and resold the data independently. Further accusations included hacking the social media account of Riot Games’ president Marc Merrill to promote a service offering unauthorized access to players’ accounts. This crime history, along with the mystery surrounding the origin of Duffy’s wealth, contributed to the AFP’s decision to pursue asset forfeiture under the Proceeds of Crime Act. AFP Targets Criminal Profits to Fund Community Safety Commander Jason Kennedy of the AFP emphasized that the agency’s legal framework allows it to act decisively in confiscating assets suspected to be linked to criminal conduct—even without laying new charges. “The profits derived from criminal activities are also often used to fund further criminal acts,” Kennedy stated. “That’s why we work closely with our partners in the CACT to ensure such proceeds are reinvested in the community.” The confiscated assets will be sold, and the proceeds will go to a special purpose fund aimed at supporting law enforcement and crime prevention initiatives . Since July 2019, the CACT has restrained over $1.2 billion in criminally-linked assets, including luxury items like homes, vehicles, yachts, cryptocurrency, and fine art. The post Australian Hacker Forfeits Assets in $2.88M Crime Proceeds Case appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
