London’s Metropolitan Police has seized £114mil (US$158mil) worth of Bitcoin as part of an investigation into money laundering offences.

The police said the sum is more than double the amount of cash seized last year and was the largest cryptocurrency confiscation ever in the United Kingdom.

One Bitcoin is currently worth around US$34,000 , having fallen from a peak in April of almost US$65,000 , meaning the sum confiscated may have been worth nearly double two months ago.

The seizure by Scotland Yard’s Economic Crime Command followed intelligence received about the transfer of criminal assets. The investigation is continuing.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty said: “Every single part of the Met is working to reduce violence on the streets of London as an absolute priority, this includes our financial investigators.

“There is an inherent link between money and violence. Cash remains king, but as technology and online platforms develop, some are moving to more sophisticated methods of laundering their profits. But we have highly trained officers and specialist units working day and night to remain one step ahead.”

Bitcoin transactions provide more anonymity to senders and recipients of money as, while the transactions all form part of a large ledger, the wallet addresses of those involved in transactions do not contain identifiable details.

 - dpa