Romania set to auction Bitcoin and Ether confiscated in criminal case

The winning bidder will need to provide the auction house with a crypto address hosted on a registered, compliant trading platform.

The Romanian authorities are set to host their first-ever auction of cryptocurrency, seized from a fraud case. 

On Oct. 2, the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI) announced its forthcoming auction of the confiscated Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), as required by a ruling from the Prosecutor's Office in Ploiesti Court. The specific quantities of cryptocurrency up for auction have not been reported. In a press release, ANABI stated:

Taking into account the nature of the moveable property put up for auction, the successful tenderer will have to inform the Agency, to proceed with the transfer, about the BTC and ETH public addresses associated to a virtual currency trading platform. 

ANBI has clarified that the crypto trading platform used by the successful bidder will need to be a legal and registered entity that adheres to Romania's legislative norms and guidelines for financial instruments. It must incorporate Know Your Customer requirements for its clients and comply with both domestic and foreign Anti-Money Laundering provisions.

As reported, Romania was previously summoned to the European Court of Justice for its delay in fully transposing the full gamut of provisions outlined in the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Directive — including those relating to cryptocurrencies — into national law. This July, Romania was fined, alongside Ireland, as a result of the delay, although the country had meanwhile transposed the outstanding elements of the directive.

While the forthcoming auction is a national first, multiple auctions of cryptocurrencies seized in criminal cases have previously been held by national authorities across the world.