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Max Flores, a bitcoin trader based in Glasgow, received his money back following a court decision to release the money seized by the police earlier, Herald Scotland reports. 

Max Flores is a trader and software engineer. He is a co-founder of Bitcoin Manchester meetup for bitcoiners and he took part in a bitcoin meetup in Edinburgh in January 2014. In the past, he worked at Barclays and invested in ZipZap remittance app and Monetas financial platform. 

The police stopped Flores when he was leaving the bank and confiscated the cash giving little explanation. As it turned out later, the confiscation was commissioned by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), which is responsible for the prosecution of crime in Scotland. Flores' solicitor clarified that the funds were confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a law usually applied to drug dealers. 

“But they certainly knew that bitcoins trading was in the background. That to me was the most disturbing aspect of this – there was no real identification of what the criminal conduct was,” Laura Irvine, of Edinburgh-based bto solicitors, who represented Flores, added.

Flores said that he lost around £1,200 on legal fees while he tried to get his money back. Flores stated that as soon as he explained with the help of his solicitor that the money came from bitcoin trading, the court made a decision to return the money. 

The funds were seized by the police after the bank's `suspicious activity report' with indication of possible money laundering and the court gave permission to freeze the money for three months during which the bank and the police investigated the case.

Police suspicions were based on the fact that the money was going through his bank account while Flores did not have a source of income at that point. According to the Crown Office , the investigation was hampered by Flores' initial refusal to collaborate and provide necessary information. 

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “Trading in bitcoins is perfectly legal.” This is the first decision on bitcoin of this kind in Scotland and it is believed it may have positive impact on future incidents.

“Thankfully Mr Flores has been vindicated in the first case of its kind in Scotland and it is hoped that in future cases where digital currencies are involved that the authorities will learn from the mistakes made in this case.” Pol Clementsmith, Scotland officer with the Open Rights Group (ORG), which campaigns on digital rights, said.

Aliona Chapel