Bitcoin Forum

As reported by Decrypt (https://decrypt.co/61124/french-government-to-auction-seized-bitcoin-worth-34-5-million), the French government will auction bitcoin worth $34.5 million, seized from alleged hackers of GateHub, a British platform built on the XRP Ledger protocol.


According to a recent report by Cyberguerre (https://cyberguerre.numerama.com/10865-comment-les-bitcoins-du-casse-de-gatehub-pourraient-enrichir-letat-francais.html), the auction will be held on behalf of the French Agency for the Management and Return of Seized and Confiscated Assets (AGRASC) by the Paris auction house Kapandji Morhange (https://www.interencheres.com/commissaire-priseur/selarl-kapandji-morhange-et-ka-mondo-351/) on March 17. Almost all the bitcoins put up for auction 610 out of 611 were seized by the courts during the investigation of the GateHub hack, GateHub was hacked in June 2019, resulting in a loss of 23 million XRP worth $9.2 million at the time. Later that year, a hacker attack targeted a crypto wallet service that compromised the personal data of 1.4 million users.


 The investigation is being conducted against two individuals, Nassim B and Gabriel Kab (known by the online handles Prosox and Kurois'h), who were also accused of hacking the YouTube channel of the Vevo music video platform in 2018.
As the judicial investigation into the GateHub hack is still ongoing, this means that if Gabriel Kab and Nassim B are cleared of the charges, they will receive all proceeds from the French government's planned Bitcoin auction. If they are found guilty, the proceeds from the sale will go to the French government.

What this article fails to mention, but what the French one that this article is based on doesn't, is that the injured parties (i.e. the hacked exchange/wallet) will be able to recover the money from the auctioned stolen loot.

Just out of curiosity why would the French government sell it in the first place if the proceeds from that sale is something that can be returned to the accused if found not guilty? Shouldn't they wait for the verdict before they do any kind of auctioning so they could just return the Bitcoin instead of giving them money? Or Am I missing something like a French law that forces the government to liquidate confiscated assets in cases such as this one? Maybe they are just taking advantage of the prices of Bitcoin right now but for me they should have waited for a verdict before doing such thing.

I guess the accused may have already confessed to their role in the crime and may have forfeited the coin holdings. I don't agree with the suggestion that the assets should be held until the verdict is out. Bitcoin is a very volatile asset, and it can go up or down by as much as 10% in a single day. On the other hand, getting a verdict may take more than a year. So if the guilt is clear, then they should go ahead with the auction in my opinion.

Just wondering...has anyone registered to bid on these lots.  Unfortunately, I was too late and registration is now closed for the auction to be held this Wednesday.  Looks like there are multiple lots ranging from 0.11 to 2BTC.  If anyone plans on bidding, would anyone consider a joint bid?  Thx

The GSA auction is scheduled to be held from March 15 to 17 as mentioned https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/bitcoin-worth-38-000-among-u-s-government-auction-of-used-cars

Dont know if there's someone who would trust up somebody online on making some joint bid.

Sale-Lot Number:
4KQSCI21105001

Current Bid:
43,205 USD

Bidders:
22

It's a completely unrelated auction.


They haven't forfeited their right to the coins, at least that much is clear from the original article, but the volatility is likely to be the reason why the coins are being auctioned right now (and it was also mentioned).

Yes, agreed.  It would be a hard sell to try this without complete trust.  oh well.  guess I will just continue DCA.  :D

As a french, I can give a comment

@malevolent is half right, the current volatility is one of the reasons. While it seems surprising to sell something before the justice court decided if you're the culprit or not, it's a common situation in France. It is the same for car auctions or sometimes for property sales following a divorce.
At the same time, you have to admit the chances of people being declared innocent are almost non-existent.
This + that = what we have now

Keep in mind that there are fees, for the maker and also for the taker. If you decide to buy, you will have a 14% fee and another one (about 3% I think). While it seems high it's the very common rate for an auction