Ireland’s CAB seizes third Collins bitcoin wallet, recovers $31M

Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau accessed a third bitcoin wallet linked to Clifton Collins and moved about 500 BTC into state custody on July 2, 2026.

The recovery raises the bureau’s total from Collins’ holdings in 2026 to about 1,500 BTC. Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre provided technical support, hosting meetings in The Hague and supplying decryption resources that helped unlock one wallet. The bureau posted the action on social media but did not disclose technical details while the investigation continues.

Bitcoin traded near $61,749 when the coins were moved, valuing the tranche at about $30.9 million. The seized coins were transferred into institutional custody for management and planned liquidation. Blockchain analytics firms have labeled the cluster associated with Collins and are monitoring each movement.

Nine of the original 12 wallets remain inaccessible, holding an estimated 4,500 BTC, worth about $275 million at current prices. A High Court order issued around 2019 identified the wallets as proceeds of crime and ordered their confiscation; CAB retains legal control of the addresses while technical access remains a barrier.

Collins, from Dublin, was convicted in 2017 for operating an indoor cannabis cultivation network across County Galway and other sites. Gardaí spotted his vehicle during a patrol in the Wicklow Mountains on February 7, 2017; a subsequent search of a property turned up more than 500 cannabis plants. He pleaded guilty and served part of a five-year sentence under the Misuse of Drugs Act, with a portion suspended. In interviews with investigators Collins described his involvement as ‘stupidity’ and ‘addiction’.

Court records and interviews show Collins bought about 6,000 BTC in late 2011 and early 2012, when bitcoin traded for a few dollars per coin. He split the holdings across 12 addresses and printed the private keys on paper, hiding the printouts inside the aluminium cap of a fishing-rod case at a rented property. After his arrest the landlord cleared the house and the fishing-rod case was sent to landfill, leaving Collins without access to most of the keys for years.

Before the larger wallet recoveries, Collins surrendered smaller amounts of bitcoin and physical assets, including a gyroplane, a fishing boat and a camper van, which together generated about €1.2 million for the state. Onchain records show no activity from the contested wallets between Collins’ 2017 arrest and the first recovery in March 2026.

Prior to the Collins recoveries, CAB had sold roughly €6.5 million in cryptocurrency across earlier cases over the previous decade. The bureau continues to work with Europol and other partners to try to access the remaining wallets.