The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have seized the assets of a Queensland man, suspected of Bitcoin theft, confiscating a waterfront property, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, and 25 BTC worth around $2.6 million. Local news outlets have identified the man as Shane Stephen Duffy. The seizure of assets comes after Luxembourg authorities tipped off AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, that the Queenslander was involved in a major Bitcoin theft. AFP further announced that the Bitcoin was seized some time ago, so the value of the crypto may have been priced at a different level when the AFP sold the tokens. Australian authorities also claim that the man had been previously convicted of hacking an American company.

“A CACT investigation”, announced the AFP, “began in September 2018, after law enforcement partners in Luxembourg contacted AUSTRAC regarding suspicious Bitcoin transactions, linked to a Queensland man previously convicted of hacking a gaming company in the United States. The investigation identified suspected links between the man and the theft of 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange in 2013. No criminal charges eventuated; however, the Commonwealth’s proceeds of crime laws allow the CACT to restrain suspected proceeds of crime, regardless of whether there is a related criminal prosecution”.

The AFP announced on their website that federal authorities seized around $4.5 million in assets, including a beachfront mansion, a luxury car, and Bitcoin. The investigation began in 2018 by the AFP’s Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), which was able to link stolen Bitcoin to the Queenslander. CACT can seize assets despite no conviction, because the Australian Proceeds of Crime Act allows federal police to seize assets suspected of being connected to criminal activity. The AFP argues that his wealth far exceeded the amount of his legitimate earnings. They used this reasoning to seize all of his assets. A court ruling in April 2025 allowed the AFP to use the seized funds to pay for crime prevention programs. CACT has seized over $1.2 billion in assets since its creation in 2012.

Shane Stephen Duffy, identified by local news outlets, pleaded guilty to hacking League of Legends players in 2016. However, despite Duffy pleading guilty to computer hacking and fraud, he didn’t directly hack League of Legends but obtained the data online and sold it for a profit. The original League of Legends hack occurred in 2011. There were over 5 million users whose data was compromised. Moreover, Duffy hacked the Riot Games X account to promote his data-selling business. The business promised to provide access to League of Legends accounts for a price.

The Proceeds of Crime Act allows Australian officials to confiscate assets if a person can’t show that their assets came from honest work. The AFP, therefore, does not need to wait for a court case and can confiscate assets, such as cryptocurrencies, if it can prove that the assets came from dubious origins. Critics of these powers suggest that authorities could misuse them. However, supporters of these powers say that federal authorities need such powers to disrupt criminal networks. Duffy’s beachside house, Mercedes-Benz, and Bitcoin collection will be used by federal authorities to fund community awareness programs.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 20, 2025 6:20 pm