Canada’s RCMP closes TradeOgre, seizes $40M in country’s largest crypto bust

RCMP shuts down TradeOgre, seizing $40M from crime, the first crypto exchange closure and largest asset seizure in Canada’s history.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police shut down the crypto exchange TradeOgre and seized $40M worth of crypto assets. This is the first crypto exchange shut down by the Canadian authorities.

“RCMP Federal Policing – Eastern Region has carried out the largest cryptocurrency seizure in Canadian history. Thanks to the work of investigators specialized in financial crime, cybercrime and cryptocurrencies, an estimated sum of over 56 million dollars was recovered from the platform TradeOgre.” reads the statement published by RCMP. “This also marks the first time that a cryptocurrency exchange platform has been dismantled by Canadian law enforcement.”

TradeOgre was a centralized cryptocurrency exchange known for listing niche, low-cap, and privacy-focused coins such as Monero and Pirate Chain. It operated with a minimalist interface, offering basic trading features without requiring users’ identity verification (no KYC).

The Canadian Money Laundering Investigative Team (MLIT) probed TradeOgre in June 2024 and the platform went offline in July, sparking exit scam fears.

The probe found that the crypto exchange broke Canadian laws by failing to register with FINTRAC and ignoring client ID rules. Most funds likely came from criminal activities, exploiting anonymity to launder money. Authorities seized transaction data for analysis, and charges may follow as the investigation continues.

At this time, it is unclear if the seized crypto assets originated from illegal activities.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, cybercrime)