Pierrakakis Visits Vourliotis: Cryptocurrency Seizure in Landmark Case

The Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, visited the President of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority, Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court e.t., Charalampos Vourliotis.

During the visit, one of the recent successes of the Authority was presented, concerning the identification and seizure of cryptocurrencies originating from the largest theft in the industry's history. According to the announcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a relevant public alert regarding the freezing of transactions.

Last month, the Authority identified a suspicious cryptocurrency transaction from a registered user on a Greek company's platform. The audit revealed that the user had received a significant amount of Ethereum, which originated from a theft at a well-known cryptocurrency exchange earlier this year, attributed to a hacking group.

The Authority issued a Seizure Order for the cryptographic wallet and the criminal product, while the findings were forwarded to the competent Prosecutor's Office. In 2024, the Authority has seized €10 million in funds, issued 200 orders for the seizure of assets, and audited 2,500 individuals and 1,500 legal entities in the context of European sanctions for Ukraine.

Kyriakos Pierrakakis stated that the Authority is a foundation for strengthening transparency and combating financial crime. The Ministry of National Economy and Finance supports the Authority with investments of over €1 million to upgrade information systems.