Canada seizes US$40 million in virtual assets from illegal crypto exchange

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on the 18th (local time) that it seized 56 million Canadian dollars (about US$40 million) in virtual assets from the local cryptocurrency exchange TradeOgre. This is the largest seizure of virtual assets in Canadian history.

In a statement, the RCMP said, "This seizure was the result of an investigation by the money laundering unit that began in June 2024 based on a tip from Europol," and added, "TradeOgre was operating as an unregistered money services business and did not fulfill its customer identity verification obligations."

Investigators concluded that much of the funds traded on TradeOgre were linked to crime. The RCMP explained, "The main appeal of such platforms is that they do not require identity verification when users create accounts, allowing the source of funds to be concealed."

So far no charges have been formally laid against TradeOgre operators or related parties. The RCMP said, "The investigation is still ongoing," and announced further inquiries.

The TradeOgre official website currently displays a banner stating, "This site and the virtual assets have been seized by the RCMP." The exchange last updated its X (formerly Twitter) account on May 28 and has been inactive since.