Finland sells confiscated Bitcoin worth $47.35 million; will donate some amount to Ukraine

Finland will donate “tens of millions” of Euros earned through selling confiscated Bitcoins to war-torn Ukraine, the country’s finance minister has said. As per the Finnish customs authorities, they have recently sold confiscated Bitcoin worth €46.5 million ($47.35 million). According to a statement, Finland currently holds 1,981 Bitcoin worth nearly €75 million at current rates, which were seized by Customs officials during criminal investigations.

On Wednesday, Finland's Finance Minister Annika Saarikko, without mentioning the amount, said that the decision was “right and proper.” She said that the administration is poised to donate tens of millions "from the proceeds from Finnish Customs confiscated Bitcoin.” While the exact amount wasn't revealed, certain sources speaking to Finnish daily Helsingin Sonomat said that a “significant proportion” would be sent to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, revealing details of the companies working on the auction of seized Bitcoins, Finald's customs said that two digital assets firms-Coinmotion and Tesseract were selected. Both the companies were screened and officials were satisfied with their “procedures to prevent money.” 

Not all proceeds will go to Ukraine 

It is pertinent to note that not all of the tokens held by the Finnish authorities were offered for sale, as legal proceedings affecting some of their original holders are still ongoing. "Our current intention is to make available to brokers for liquidation the legally enforceable virtual currencies held by Customs, around 1,890 Bitcoin, during the spring or early summer. The money will be remitted to the state as usual, as will all other assets seized by Customs," said Director of Finances Pekka Pylkkänen.

War in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has now continued for six months. In the latest development, Russia and Ukraine are expected to sign the United Nations-proposed deal to free food grain and fertilizers export on July 22, Friday, said a statement by the office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The agreement was reached to resume grain exports via the Black Sea amid the looming global food crisis. It will be locked "under the auspices" of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, alongside Erdogan around 1:30 pm (GMT), Erdogan's spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said in a statement. The announcement comes after Guterres left for Istanbul late on Thursday.

(Image: AP/Unsplash)