Authorities Seized 50,000 BTC From Former Operator of Piracy Website

German authorities have announced the seizure of a record 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from a former operator of the now-defunct piracy website movie2k[.]to.

The crypto assets, valued at approximately $2.1 billion at the time of writing, were confiscated after one of the suspects voluntarily deposited them in a state-controlled crypto wallet.

Movie2k Investigation Leads to 50,000 BTC Seizure

“In an investigation by the Dresden General Prosecutor's Office, the Saxony State Criminal Police Office and the tax investigation of the Leipzig II Tax Office as the Saxony Integrated Investigation Unit (INES), almost 50,000 Bitcoins were provisionally secured in mid-January 2024,” reads the Saxony Police announcement.

Movie2k was an infamous website where users could find links to stream or download movies and TV shows. The website, which operated between 2008 and 2013, didn’t actually host any pirated content, placing it in a legally ambiguous area.

Several Takedown Attempts

However, the platform clearly condoned piracy, leading to legal action against it, as well as scrutiny from both authorities and entertainment industry entities. Many actions taken against it, including ISP-level bans, have prompted the website’s operators to change domains multiple times.

Following the dismantling of the original Movie2k in May 2013, German authorities, aided by the FBI, identified two of the website’s operators: a 37-year-old man from Poland and a 40-year-old German.

Seized Assets Handed Over Voluntarily By One of the Suspects

“The ongoing investigations into suspected unauthorized commercial exploitation of copyrighted works under the Copyright Act and subsequent commercial money laundering, among other things, are directed against two people responsible (m, 40 years old, German; m, 37 years old, Polish) of a leading German company until the end of May 2013 Pirated copy portals,” reads the announcement. “They are said to have purchased Bitcoins with the proceeds. No further information will be provided until the investigation is completed.”

One of the suspects reportedly transferred the BTC voluntarily to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

Authorities believe that the suspects amassed hefty sums during the administration of Movie2k, from activities such as membership subscriptions and advertising on the platform, then converted it to Bitcoin in hopes that the cryptocurrency would be harder to trace.