Finland’s government revealed plans to donate approx $77 million in seized BTC to Ukraine, supporting its war against Russia – the country’s Finance Minister made this announcement late on this Wednesday.
Finland is currently supervisor of 1981 BTC worth ~$77 million, seized regarding to illegal operations.
The Finnish Customs had planned an auction for the seized BTC, most of which dates back to a haul in ’16, thanks to a drug bust the officials seized 1666 BTC. The value of the Bitcoin was around $739,315 than – at that time the current prices were close to $65 million.
The donation will need some time, with the plan yet to be presented to the Finland’s Parliament during the upcoming supplementary budget.
Finance minister Annika Saarikko tweeted:
The Finnish Government decided on significant additional aid to #Ukraine. Finland will donate tens of millions of euros from the sale of #bitcoin seized by Finnish Customs to Ukraine. This historic decision was taken by the Ministry and Finance and Ministry for Foreign Affairs. pic.twitter.com/RNDenhsBWH
— Valtiovarainministeriö | Finansministeriet (@VMuutiset) April 28, 2022
Finnish finance minister Saarikko did not shared the exact amount that would be donated to support Ukraine, but sources shared that the plan was to donate a large portion towards Ukraine’s war effort, estimated to be around $77M. Ukraine has already received donations in various cryptocurrencies worth millions since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The Finniesh authorities won’t be able to donate all of the Bitcoin held by them as some legal proceedings are still in progress.
“Our current intention is to make available to brokers for liquidation the legally enforceable virtual currencies held by Customs, around 1,890 Bitcoin, during the spring or early summer. The money will be remitted to the state as usual, as will all other assets seized by Customs.”
Pekka Pylkkänen, Director of Finances said.
Don’t worry, we hate spam too
one weekly digest, just the important stuff.
