By Protos
Crypto has long been popular with criminals looking to hide, launder, or move their ill-gotten gains. But now disgruntled spouses facing divorce are adopting the same tactics as ganglords and cartels and using assets like bitcoin to keep their money out of the hands of their erstwhile partners.
As a result, many legal firms are now catering specifically to this growing sector and helping parting couples who want to make sure their settlement is all present and correct by tracking down hidden crypto.
As reported by inews.co.uk, Investigation firm CipherBlade has spent the past three years conducting 150 investigations into various cases of crypto foul play involving married couples, some of which have seen upwards of $10 million worth of crypto squirreled away.
“Crypto has the capability of being the new Cayman Islands bank account,” for hiding assets during a divorce, said the firm, (our emphasis).
Speaking to inews, Wales-based legal firm Stowe Family Law described crypto assets as a “headache” for family lawyers due to the assets’ complexity. London-based lawyers Boodle Hatfield echoed this sentiment by describing how challenging it is, without heavy legwork, to prove that crypto assets even exist.
How daddy hides his crypto
Some divorcees attempt to hide their assets from judges by simply not declaring their existence. But how are these divorcees (usually the husbands btw) hiding their crypto from investigators?
According to legal firm Simmons & Simmons, they use much the same strategies as drug dealers and money launderers, namely crypto mixers such as the now-defunct Tornado Cash. As the name implies, these services mix a client’s crypto transactions with lots of others to make assets harder to trace.
“Crypto is elusive so if your partner is not being honest about those assets, the best bet might be to find a data analyst expert to trace funds and accounts tied to crypto.”
Audra Petrolle, family law attorney at Rose Law Group
