According to Argentina’s tax officials and naval security officers, a significant Bitcoin mining hardware “smuggling” operation has been thwarted.
The Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) conducted numerous investigations with the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP), the national tax authority, as reported by La Capital Mar Del Plata and 0223.
The authorities claimed the organization illicitly imported “hundreds” of “high-end cell phones, video cards, and components for cryptocurrency mining” into the nation.
Additionally, they alleged that the organization employed “crypto investments” to conceal its profits and launder them from the authorities.
The state agencies released photographs of the confiscated items and money. Among these photographs was an image of customs officers standing in front of cardboard crates adorned with the Canaan logo.
Canaan is recognized as a significant manufacturer of ASIC Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware in the cryptocurrency industry.
Only permit-holding companies are permitted to import dedicated crypto-mining equipment in Argentina.
Additionally, officers published photographs of armed officers standing before an apparel store.
This implies that the organization utilized a small store as a front and a makeshift warehouse to store illicit crypto-mining equipment.
Officers also reported confiscating “over 30 million pesos” (equivalent to over $31,000) and $19,000 in US currencies.
They also stated that they conducted numerous incursions, one of which was in Mar del Plata, a significant city on the Atlantic coast of Argentina.
Officers also raided properties in Bahía Blanca, a city in the southwestern region of the Buenos Aires Province.
After conducting raids on six residential properties in the cities, officers reported that they had apprehended four individuals, two of whom were males and two of whom were women.
The agencies have verified that all four have been formally charged with money laundering and smuggling-related offenses.
PNA and AFIP officials also reported that they confiscated a motor vehicle, numerous electronic devices, and other financial assets and clothing articles.
They also confiscated documents that they believe are pertinent to the case and were “associated with a corporation” that they believed was the driving force behind the operation.
The PNA and AFIP stated that the assets they seized had a total market value of “over $624,000”.
The AFIP conducted raids on illicit Bitcoin mining farms in various unconventional locations in 2022, such as a luxury apartment block and a livestock farm.
The tax agency has recently declared its intention to implement a crackdown on illicit Worldcoin (WLD) resellers.
Currently, the tax authority ensures that all crypto exchanges in the country adhere to anti-money laundering protocols.
By the new regulations, all platforms currently operational in the country must guarantee that consumers adhere to anti-money laundering protocols.
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