Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (abbreviated to HMRC onwards!) is investigating fraud and has seized some NFTs.

We recently reported that Cent, one of the NFT trading platforms, has suspended transactions due to the high level of fraud, which confirms what the indie games shop itch.io had written a few days earlier (and we also reported on it): NFTs are a scam. And all these events are underlined by the fact that the HMRC has seized three NFTs while investigating a network of 250 shell companies, BBC reports. The three NFTs were part of a VAT fraud that caused around £1.4 million damage to the UK.

Three people have already been arrested, and HMRC says it is the first time the country’s authorities have seized an NFT. In this case, seizing is probably no more than a case of right click, save as, as we are talking about digital assets and they cannot be seized in the same way as, say, an object used in a murder, as we are not exactly talking about things you can physically hold in your hands. HMRC added that they had a court order to seize the three NFTs. The value of these was not disclosed, but other unspecified crypto assets were also seized, with a total value of $5,000.

According to the authorities, the three suspects used sophisticated means to conceal their identities, such as impersonation (using false or stolen identities), fake addresses, unregistered mobile phones, VPNs, fake invoices, and the 250 shell companies. According to Nick Sharp, HMRC’s deputy director for economic crime, the seizure of NFTs “serves as a warning to anyone who thinks they can use crypto assets to hide money from HMRC. We constantly adapt to new technology to ensure we keep pace with how criminals and evaders look to conceal their assets.”

Jake Moore, a cyber security expert at ESET, was interviewed by the Guardian and said: “Confiscation also comes with a very tempting reward due to the Proceeds of Crime Act where the investigating police force can request to keep half of the forfeited goods and the other half will go to the Home Office. So with digital currencies, this can be extremely appealing indeed.”

Source: PCGamer