Wellington (Reuters) - New Zealand police have seized assets worth NZ $ 140 million ($ 90.68 million) from Russia, suspected of stealing billions of dollars in digital currency.
Police said he had confiscated the property because it was owned by Alexander Winnick in the New Zealand company.
The department said in a statement late Monday that it was the largest money control in New Zealand police history.
US officials are accused of facilitating crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug-trafficking - the exchange of digital currency used to trade BTC-E - bitcoins.
Winnick denies the allegations, saying he was a technical consultant to BTC-I and not its operator.
He was arrested in Greece on charges of money laundering in 2017 and has since been extradited to France. He is also wanted in Russia on lesser charges.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Koster said the funding was likely to reflect the profits from the victim
Thousands worldwide.
"However, this restraint indicates that New Zealand is not a safe haven for illicit income from crime in other parts of the world."
New Zealand police said they had worked with the US Internal Revenue Service on the case and had applied to the High Court to seize the funds.
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