Australian Federal Police (AFP) have seized 9.3 million Australian dollars ($6.4 million) in cryptocurrency from the alleged creator behind Ghost, an encrypted messaging app used by organized crime syndicates. The app, well-known for its self-destructing messages and high-end encryption, was taken offline last month after a coordinated Europol investigation with multiple global law enforcement agencies, including the AFP.
The mastermind, a 32-year-old man from Narwee, a Sydney suburb, was arrested on September 17 during “Operation Kraken,” an ongoing initiative against crime networks. The AFP said the man faced five charges, including supporting criminal organizations. Interestingly, despite the name, the operation has no connection to the Kraken crypto exchange.
AFP Uncovers Hardware Wallet Secrets
During the operation, crypto analytics experts from the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) uncovered key information by cracking the suspect’s hardware wallets. Seed phrases—those critical strings of random words used to access crypto wallets—were found, allowing authorities to transfer the seized funds to their own secure storage. It’s a major score for law enforcement.
But this isn’t the first time they’ve gone after crypto. The AFP pulled off another significant bust in August, when they restrained $1.4 million AUD in crypto assets from a Western Australian crime syndicate.
Hardware wallets are supposed to be fortress-strong when it comes to securing crypto, keeping private keys offline and immune to online attacks. But when physical access falls into the wrong hands, even that fortress can get breached. That’s exactly what happened here. The AFP showed they could crack the code, so to speak, making the suspect’s funds disappear from his grasp.
Operation Kraken: A Heavyweight Fight
Operation Kraken is turning into a beast of its own. Since 2022, it has led to 46 arrests, 93 search warrants, and the interception of 50 life-threatening situations. The AFP’s operation has also snatched 2.37 million AUD in cash and 11.09 million AUD in other assets. And they’re not done yet.
Commander Scott Raven of the AFP said this victory shows their technical might, warning that whether criminals stash assets in crypto or real estate, the AFP and their CACT partners will hunt it down. Once seized, these ill-gotten gains go to the Australian Financial Security Authority to help fund crime prevention programs.
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