tl;dr
A Queensland man forfeited over $2.9 million in assets, including a waterfront mansion, a Mercedes-Benz, and nearly 25 Bitcoin valued at $2.6 million, following a court order. The investigation began after AUSTRAC received a tip from Luxembourg about suspicious Bitcoin linked to the man, who had a p...
A Queensland man has forfeited over $2.9 million in assets, including a waterfront mansion, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, and nearly 25 Bitcoin valued at approximately $2.6 million, following a court order linked to historic crypto theft and hacking.
The investigation began when Australia's financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, received a tip from Luxembourg about suspicious Bitcoin movements connected to the man, who had a prior conviction for hacking a U.S. gaming company and was tied to the 2013 theft of 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange.
No charges were filed in this recent action; however, under Australian proceeds of crime laws, assets believed to be associated with criminal activity can be seized without a conviction. The value discrepancies in the Bitcoin holdings were attributed to timing differences in asset sales, as Bitcoin prices fluctuate significantly.
The Australian Federal Police’s Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) has been actively investigating historic crypto theft and cybercrime since 2018. Since mid-2019, CACT has restrained around $770 million in suspected criminal assets—including properties, luxury vehicles, fine art, and cryptocurrency—to disrupt financially motivated crime.
The Beachmere waterfront home, luxury car, and Bitcoin assets were first restrained in July 2023 when authorities determined their value was disproportionate to the man’s known income. The Queensland District Court officially approved their forfeiture in April 2025. Proceeds from the sale of these assets will be allocated to the Commonwealth Confiscated Assets Account, funding community-focused crime prevention and law enforcement programs.
CACT’s past seizures have included $6 million in digital cryptocurrency linked to the encrypted communications platform Ghost, $500,000 in crypto related to firearms trafficking, and $330,000 connected to a money laundering operation on the Gold Coast. These efforts highlight a growing crackdown on cybercriminals exploiting crypto for illicit gains.