German Authorities Shut Down 47 Crypto Exchanges Allegedly Linked to Money Laundering

The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) of Germany have closed down 47 crypto exchanges allegedly involved in criminal activities, including money laundering, according to a report by CoinDesk on September 20th.

The BKA stated in a press release on Thursday that these exchanges deliberately failed to fulfill their obligations to conduct certain identity and background checks on their clients, failing to meet KYC requirements. The exchanges include Xchange cash, 60cek, Baksman, and several other smaller platforms. While one exchange had been active since 2012, others were only established last year.

Earlier this year, the BKA seized 49,857 Bitcoin, valued at $2.1 billion at the time, from a privacy website operator. The website was shut down in 2013 for violating copyright laws. The BKA began selling these tokens in July of this year, contributing to sell-off pressure in the global cryptocurrency market. This pressure, coupled with the near simultaneous repayment of Mt. Gox funds, led to a downturn in the crypto market.