The couple, who live in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto district, will be tried for money laundering offenses as well as tax fraud in a case involving the exchange of cryptocurrency for illegal money.
In a statement published this Thursday on its website, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the District of Porto (PGDP) states that the Criminal Investigation Court of Santa Maria da Feira (Aveiro) has convicted the accused of the “precise language” contained in the indictment of the Ministry of State. (MP).
The facts occurred in 2017 and 2018 and concern a couple living in Canidelo, Vila Nova de Gaia.
The Dec. 2 ruling states that the defendants, using the digital platform Localbitcoins, made 44 sales of cryptocurrency they owned, receiving in exchange amounts of traditional currency totaling €90,179.20 that they “knew were obtained criminally.” – illegal activities, namely qualified fraud committed on the Internet and “phishing.”
The deputy also considered that this indicates that the defendants, by offering to receive these amounts obtained illegally in exchange for their cryptocurrencies, were able to negotiate them at prices significantly higher than their market value, which could range from 5% to 35% of the value the corresponding transaction.
“With this decision, the court also upheld the MP’s indictment that in 2017 the defendants had a global income of 345,535.51 euros from the sale of cryptocurrencies on various platforms, income which they completely excluded from the national tax administration, thus failing to pay tax due to the IRS in the amount of €22,305.75,” the same note states.
The deputy demanded that the defendants be ordered to pay the state 112,484.95 euros, which corresponds to the illegal economic benefits allegedly obtained as a result of the crimes.