Irish criminal groups have started storing seed phrases and private keys for cryptocurrency wallets in rented bank safe deposit boxes. This practice was revealed by Michael Gubbins, head of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), in an interview with the Sunday Independent.
He stated that the bureau uncovered this scheme during investigations and reported the findings to a government committee on anti-money laundering.
The committee is preparing the country for new European Union regulations set to take effect in the summer of 2027. These rules will ban cash transactions over €10,000 and require customer identification for cash expenditures over €3,000. Providers of crypto-asset services, luxury goods sellers, and crowdfunding platforms will come under stricter scrutiny. In August 2026, Ireland published its first national strategy to combat money laundering.
According to Gubbins, criminal groups use digital assets to reduce the risk of confiscation and exploit perceived anonymity. However, he noted that cryptocurrencies are used “quite basically” in the Irish criminal scene, with cash still dominating drug trafficking.
CAB is also investigating professional money launderers, including operators of hawala. Gubbins estimated their commission at around 6%. In one case, the bureau seized €230,000 from a safe deposit box in a private storage company.
A separate track involves the largest crypto asset seizure in CAB’s history. In March 2026, with Europol’s assistance, the bureau accessed the first of 12 wallets containing 6,000 BTC, seized in 2019 in a cannabis cultivation case. The private keys were recorded and hidden in a fishing rod case, which was later lost.
Gubbins stated that CAB has already liquidated coins worth over €130 million from the total cryptocurrency value of €360 million. In 2025, the bureau returned nearly €15 million to the Irish treasury.
Previously, Irish authorities classified crypto assets as sectors with “very significant” risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.
