€221 million in cash, cars, cryptocurrency seized in 2017 crime cases

The Dutch authorities seized 221 million euros in money, cars, cryptocurrency, and other assets from criminals in various criminal cases last year, the Public Prosecutor announced on Friday.

This amount is much lower than the 416 million euros seized from criminals in 2016, but that high amount is largely attributable to Vimplecom paying around 268 million euros to the Netherlands as settlement for bribery and corruption charges. Last year's seized amount is higher than the amount seized in 2015 - 143 million euros.

The Prosecutor points out that criminals don't rest and are continually coming up with new ways to hide their criminally gained funds, such as using cryptocurrency. "The world is changing and that means that the investigative services, the Public Prosecutor and other partners also have to keep innovating", the Prosecutor said. "From the first phase of information gathering to the completion and collection phase, innovation is important. We are always looking for newer and more effective ways to ensure that crime does not pay and victims are compensated."