The Swedish authority has reportedly been involved in an unprecedented case of completing the payout of nearly $1.5 million BTC equivalent for a convicted – and now behind bars – drug dealer.

Specifically, in 2019, the individual has reportedly received the conviction from a Swedish court, for a crime of obtaining 36 Bitcoin via illegal online drug sales. 

However, Tove Kullberg, his prosecutor at the time, has reportedly prosecuted the case with the use of the fiat equivalent of the BTC sum. Hence the court ruled out that the illegally obtained Bitcoin will be confiscated according to its value during the time – 1.3 million Swedish kronor ($100,000).

Throughout the post-conviction and imprisonment time of the individual, his illicitly acquired crypto amount has reportedly witnessed exponential growth, to the point that the Swedish Enforcement Authority – the agency handling the auctioning job of the 36 BTC – only had to place just 3 BTC up for sale to meet the demands of the court. 

Which means the remaining 33 BTC, with an overall value equivalent to $1.5 million – by law, needed to be sent back to the criminal. 

Kullberg – during a talk with Swedish radio – reportedly shared that in retrospect, she would want to look at her case as “unfortunate in many ways […] It has led to consequences I was not able to foresee at the time”. 

“The lesson to be learned from this is to keep the value in Bitcoin, that the profit from the crime should be 36 Bitcoin, regardless of what value the Bitcoin has at the time.”

Kullberg further remarked that with the ongoing widespread adoption of crypto, it would be ideal for the prosecution authorities to pour resources in equipping their workforce with sufficient knowledge of the sector.