Scottish authorities have successfully tracked, seized, and converted 23.5 Bitcoin into cash, following a 2020 home invasion near Glasgow. The robbery, which involved three men armed with a machete and a Toblerone chocolate bar, marked the first case in Scotland where stolen cryptocurrency was traced and recovered.
Unusual Weapons in a Violent Robbery
The crime, which took place in the town of Blantyre, southeast of Glasgow, saw the three assailants break into a home, where one of them repeatedly struck a woman with a personalized Toblerone bar and then threw her into a bedroom. The unnamed victim testified that he awoke to find one of the intruders standing over him with a machete, forcing him to transfer Bitcoin. Before fleeing, one of the attackers made a threatening “throat-slitting gesture” with the bloodied Toblerone.
First Cryptocurrency Seizure in Scotland
This case, first heard last year, was groundbreaking for Scotland, as it was the first instance of stolen cryptocurrency being traced and recovered by authorities. Detective Inspector Craig Potter from Police Scotland’s Cyber Investigations unit confirmed that the operation represented a significant milestone in combating digital crime in the country.
On September 2, Scottish prosecutors, using proceeds of crime legislation, successfully converted the stolen Bitcoin into cash. The Edinburgh High Court agreed on September 3 to the conversion, resulting in a total sum of $144,017 (109,601 British pounds) being seized, a value reflecting the Bitcoin price at the time of the robbery in March 2020 when it traded around $5,400.
The Role of the “Technical Brains” Behind the Theft
The stolen Bitcoin was traced back to John Ross Rennie, who was convicted in November of possessing the stolen cryptocurrency. Prosecutors identified Rennie as the “technical brains” behind the heist, alleging that he provided instructions on how to transfer the Bitcoin. Although Rennie denied his involvement, claiming a “scary” relative forced him to deposit the Bitcoin into an exchange account, Edinburgh High Court judge Lord Scott ruled that Rennie’s role was “pivotal” in the theft. As part of his conviction, Rennie was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and a six-month supervision order.
