A CryptoPunk NFT on display at Sotheby’s on June 4, 2021 in New York City.
Cindy Ord | beautiful pictures
LONDON – Britain’s tax watchdog has seized three non-fungible tokens in what is believed to be the first NFT seizure by UK law enforcement.
Officials at Her Majesty’s Tax and Customs Service say they have seized the NFT in its investigation into a suspected value-added tax (VAT) fraud of £1.4 million (1.9 million pounds). million dollars).
The suspects allegedly attempted to claim more VAT, a sales tax, than they owed, using a mixture of stolen identities, unregistered phones and fake invoices to conceal their identities. their character. According to HMRC, the scheme involved 250 companies that were allegedly forged.
Nick Sharp, HMRC Deputy Director of Economic Crime, said in a statement Monday: “Our first Non-Fungible Token seizure serves as a warning to anyone who thinks they might use it. use cryptocurrencies to hide money from HMRC”.
Sharp added: “We are constantly adapting to new technology to ensure we keep up with the views of criminals and those who evade to hide their possessions.
NFT is a unique digital asset designed to track ownership of virtual items, like artwork or video game characters, on the blockchain. Blockchains are the digital ledger systems that underpin most major cryptocurrencies.
Demand for NFTs has skyrocketed recently, with sales of such tokens reaching $40 billion by 2021. The market, however, susceptible to theft and fraudand there are concerns that much of the trading activity in the NFT has been driven by market manipulation tactics such as wash trading.
HMRC said it was the first law enforcement agency in the UK to make an NFT seizure. Authorities seized three NFTs representing digital art, as well as another £5,000 in other crypto assets. HMRC said the NFTs are yet to be appraised and the probe is ongoing.
