SFO has frozen £10,865.76 in Bitcoin and £289.30 in USDC (value at the time of freezing) in cryptocurrency belonging to Arena TV's CEO, Richard Yeowart.
The Serious Fraud Office has frozen equivalent to £10,865.76 in Bitcoin and £289.30 USDC belonging to Richard Yeowart, a suspect in its ongoing investigation into collapsed outside broadcast company Arena TV. This is the first time the agency has used new powers that came into force last year to freeze cryptocurrency.
The assets, identified by proceeds of crime specialists at the SFO as linked to suspected criminality, were frozen following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court this week.
They will now be held for up to nine months to allow any affected parties to come forward.
The SFO's case, which remains ongoing, has so far involved a raid, three arrests and the search of three properties in an investigation involving a range of suspects.
Director of Operations, Emma Luxton, said:
We are committed to using every tool at our disposal to prevent criminals from benefitting from their crimes, wherever they hide their assets.
Our first Crypto Wallet Freezing Order is an important step as we build our crypto asset capability and signals our intentions as we adapt to tackle increasingly sophisticated attempts to hide criminal assets.
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