Canadian police seize $40M in record crypto bust
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has carried out the largest cryptocurrency seizure in Canadian history, confiscating 56 million CAD ($40 million) in digital assets.
The bust targeted TradeOgre, a non-KYC exchange accused of violating Canadian virtual asset trading laws, reports Bitcoinist.
The platform’s lack of identity checks made it attractive to criminal organizations for laundering illicit funds. Investigators concluded that most of the assets flowing through TradeOgre came from criminal sources. In a rare move, Canadian authorities also dismantled the platform itself, with the exchange’s website now displaying an RCMP banner confirming the seizure.
Europol tip sparks investigation
The case began in June 2024 following a tip from Europol, which led the RCMP’s Money Laundering Investigative Team (MLIT) to investigate the exchange. After months of monitoring, authorities determined that TradeOgre’s operations posed significant risks to Canada’s financial system and violated anti-money laundering rules. While no charges have been officially announced, the RCMP confirmed that transaction data from the exchange is being analyzed and prosecutions are expected. The seizure sets a precedent for how Canada plans to tackle non-compliant crypto exchanges that operate without regulatory oversight.
Part of a global crackdown on illicit crypto
Canada’s record seizure comes amid a global uptick in crypto enforcement actions. In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice seized $225 million in assets linked to “pig butchering” scams, one of the largest confiscations in its history. Similarly, the DEA and FBI seized more than $10 million in crypto tied to the Sinaloa cartel in Miami. The UK government also revealed plans to sell $7 billion in confiscated Bitcoin to bolster its public budget. Most recently, U.S. officials seized $600,000 in USDT from an Iranian national accused of supplying technology to Iran’s regime.
These actions underscore a growing international trend: law enforcement agencies are increasingly treating crypto enforcement as a cornerstone of financial crime prevention.
Recently we wrote that Praetorian Group International (PGI) CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox has pleaded guilty in a Virginia federal court to defrauding investors and laundering funds tied to a $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
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