A Canadian judge has ruled that drug dealer, Matthew Phan must forfeit 281 Bitcoins to the Provincial Government in Toronto.
Previously stating that not all of the Bitcoins had been used for criminal purposes, the defendant must forfeit 281 out of 288 Bitcoins.
This amount of cryptocurrency is currently worth $1.9 million.
The Case
The court case of the Canadian dark web dealer first began in 2015 and became well known for being the first case that involved a Bitcoin expert as a witness.
In March 2019, the CEO of CipherTrace, Dave Jevans, was qualified as the first-ever Bitcoin expert witness by the Canadian court.
With a request from the Ontario Crown Attorney approved by the judge, Jevans was allowed to testify at the trial.
Following the hearing of the expert evidence, the 30-year-old dealer was ordered to forfeit 281 Bitcoins to the Ministry of the Attorney General. Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly made the order.
According to the reports, Phan used his Bitcoins to buy illegal narcotics and a gun from the dark web. In December 2018, Phan pleaded guilty to these charges.
Crown Attorney, Erin Pancer explained that it was clear from the evidence that Phan used the cryptocurrency to finance the illicit activities.
Pancer also added that the court should be satisfied with what law enforcement found on Phan's computer. In 2015, when Phan's computer was first searched, 288 Bitcoins were found in Phan's wallet.
At the time, these Bitcoins were valued at $88,000. In late 2017, the Bitcoin price jumped, leading to Phan's assets reaching a value of $7 million.
Not All Bitcoin to be Forfieted
In court, Phan countered some of the accusations, saying that not all of the Bitcoins he had in his possession were used for criminal activities.
He explained that some of them were used for trading gold.
The judge, however, was not convinced by Phan's was suggestions and said she had no doubt that Phan had been trading cryptocurrency for a while.
According to the Kelly, the number of Bitcoins that were found clearly suggested that Phan was using the coins to purchase illegal items on the dark web.
Kelly stated that the evidence on Phan's computer only proved that the defendant used Bitcoin to conduct a large narcotics operation online.
Because the Bitcoins were found in Phan's digital wallet, it is reasonable to assume that the payments for these items were made with Bitcoins.
Kelly proceeded to explain that the illegal trades were carried out on two marketplaces - Agora and Evolution.
Although almost all of the Bitcoins Phan had in possession were found beyond a reasonable doubt to be proceeds of crime, Kelly was unconvinced with regard to the final 7.23 Bitcoins.
Valued at roughly $36,000, the judge stated these Bitcoins would not be surrendered.
Consequently, Phan was sentenced to forfeit a total of 281 Bitcoins to the Government of Ontario.
Since the hearing in February, the value of the Phan's Bitcoins has risen more than $500,000.
Currently, it is unclear whether the defendant will be further sentenced.
