The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced a historic seizure of over $56 million from a cryptocurrency exchange platform, TradeOgre, which has been accused of facilitating money laundering activities. This operation is notable not only for its size but also because it represents the first instance of a cryptocurrency exchange being dismantled by Canadian law enforcement.
The investigation into TradeOgre commenced in June 2024 following a tip-off from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, directed to the RCMP’s specialized money laundering division. According to a statement from the RCMP’s Eastern Region federal policing unit based in Montreal, TradeOgre was found to be in violation of Canadian laws and regulations. Specifically, the platform failed to register as a money services business with Fintrac, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, and did not properly identify its clients—a critical requirement aimed at preventing illicit financial activities.
The RCMP noted that investigators had substantial reasons to believe that the vast majority of transactions conducted on TradeOgre originated from criminal sources. The platform’s unique appeal lies in its requirement-free user registration, which enables individuals to create accounts without disclosing their identities, thereby obscuring the origins of their funds. This anonymity has made TradeOgre attractive to criminal organizations engaged in money laundering.
As the RCMP continues to analyze transaction data obtained from the platform, authorities indicated that charges could emerge in the near future.
Concerns about the operational status of TradeOgre intensified in late July when users began to report difficulties accessing their funds and communicating with the platform, leading to speculation about its reliability. These worries were compounded when cryptocurrency analysis publication The Rage reported that all funds from TradeOgre had allegedly been transferred to an address purportedly controlled by the Canadian government. A transaction accompanying this transfer included a message declaring, “Crypto assets controlled by the RCMP.”
TradeOgre, which has been popular among users of Monero—a cryptocurrency claiming to offer secure, private, and untraceable transactions—was launched in 2018 and had its headquarters in California. Despite the significant trading volume reported, exceeding $1.9 billion within the previous week, the platform registered zero trading activity in the last 24 hours, bringing its operations into question regarding its future viability.
With the cryptocurrency landscape evolving rapidly and regulatory measures gaining traction, the implications of this historic seizure may resonate far beyond the confines of this particular case, potentially reshaping the regulatory environment for virtual currency platforms in Canada and beyond.
