The first ever bad publicity stunt for Bitcoin in France, and Europe, came today when the country’s law enforcements dismantled a local Bitcoin exchange, and seized a large amount of digital and fiat currencies as well. Two people were also indicted during the raid.
According to our reliable source, it is found that police have seized a total of 9,000 Euros in fiat and 388 Bitcoins, whose current value at press time is over 200,000 euros. However, sources failed to confirm the identity of the exchange. On the other hand, the arrested duo is the administrator and supplier of the platform, respectively. A third person, the wife of one of the accused, was also arrested in connection with the investigation, but was later released without any charges.
The arrested individuals however are charged for conducting illegal banking practices. The charges against the director although are heavier. Apart from bank frauds, he is also charged with “money laundering.” This person use to ask exorbitant fees – from 30% to 50% – on each transaction on its website, as per the allegation. The prosecutor although is unable to trace the origin of funds, which means the investigators will be going to lose almost half the value that were made by exchanging Bitcoin at excessive prices.
The administrator of the Bitcoin exchange will also be facing a charge of “illegal supply of online games,” as he was going to launch an unauthorized casino on the internet.
Bitcoin Market after the Event
According to the charts available at CoinMarketCap.com, this incidence
seems to have disturbed the steadiness of Bitcoin market. Somewhere
around the time when this news was made public, Bitcoin price fell
almost $10 within the matter of minutes. As soon as people begin to know
of these arrests, the BTC/USD will certainly face some pessimism from
the investors’ circle.
