Australian Federal Police (AFP) have confiscated a waterfront mansion, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and nearly 25 Bitcoin—collectively valued at approximately 4.5 million Australian dollars ($2.88 million)—from Queensland resident Shane Stephen Duffy. The seizure is part of an investigation into the 2013 theft of 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange.
The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) initiated the probe in September 2018 after receiving information from Luxembourg authorities about suspicious Bitcoin transactions linked to Duffy. Although no criminal charges have been filed against him in relation to the 2013 theft, the AFP obtained a court order in April to forfeit the assets, citing their lack of identifiable legitimate earnings.
Duffy has a prior conviction from 2016 for fraud and computer hacking, involving the sale of personal data from League of Legends players. He was also accused of hacking the Twitter account of Riot Games president Marc Merrill to promote his data-selling business.
AFP Commander Jason Kennedy emphasized the agency’s authority under the Proceeds of Crime Act to restrain and forfeit assets suspected to be proceeds of crime, including those related to cybercrime. He stated, “The profits derived from criminal activities are also often used to fund further criminal acts, which is why the AFP works closely with our partners in the CA.
Since July 2019, the CACT has restrained over $1.2 billion in assets, including real estate, vehicles, cryptocurrencies, and luxury items. Proceeds from the liquidation of these assets are directed into a fund supporting crime prevention and law enforcement initiatives.
