Overview
- Reports published Sunday and Monday say organised crime groups in Ireland are renting private storage boxes to hold cash, luxury goods and physical crypto credentials such as hardware wallets and seed phrases.
- The items found in vaults are tools that can control coins on public blockchains rather than the cryptocurrency itself, and many backups are protected by passphrases or multisignature setups that block immediate access.
- Investigators stress that finding a rented box or a written recovery phrase is not proof of laundering because authorities must link the credential, the on‑chain addresses and criminal proceeds in court.
- Lawmakers are preparing amendments to the Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025 to create crypto‑specific payment freezes, wider search and seizure powers, and access orders to compel disclosure of keys.
- A March 2026 CAB operation that required Europol’s technical help to access a 500 BTC wallet shows how costly and specialised seizures can be, so any change in law may increase reliance on outside technical partners and affect lawful vault customers.