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LordCharidarn t1_ivm56wj wrote

Reply to comment by Splarnst in TIL: That in 2019, some criminals were caught and 36 BTC was confiscated. The authorities valued the worth at €127,000 at the time and was sold 2 years later for €1.5 million. The criminals were returned €1.3 million due to the fact that the amount was expressed in Swedish Krona, not BTC by Wendals87

Not necessarily.

The criminals stole 127k in fiat from the victims. The cops did not seize 127k in currency, but they did find 36 BTC and took that when arresting the criminals.

They then sold the 36 BTC to collect the 127k in fiat. They returned the 127k to the victims. They returned the remaining 1.3 million in fiat to the criminals because they could not prove the rest if the money was criminally obtained.

It would be like if you had to foreclose on your 30 year mortgage after paying into it for 10 years. The bank would sell your house and (assuming the house was sold for around what you bought it for) the bank would take about 2/3rds of the sale price and you would get the other 1/3rd back (without complicated contractual agreements).

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