Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Authority (NAV) has made a significant breakthrough in the fight against illicit use of cryptocurrency. NAV seized $1 million worth of cryptocurrency from a criminal group involved in the consumer electronics trade, suspected of evading three billion Hungarian forints (HUF) in taxes.

The operation was conducted by NAV’s Criminal Directorate for the west of the country, with 28 locations raided in one day and three members of the criminal ring taken into custody. The digital assets were transferred to a specially created wallet by NAV. The group was allegedly dealing in products including smartphones, tablets, and solar panels, which they purchased tax-free from the European Union and then sold through front companies to evade VAT.

This is not the first instance of crypto crime in Hungary’s public life. Thomas Borka-Saxon, a municipal representative of the Democratic Coalition in Budapest, was caught using government electricity for bitcoin mining, leading to the confiscation of the mining equipment and his resignation. György Matolcsy, the head of Hungary’s central bank, has expressed support for an EU-wide ban on cryptocurrency mining and trading. Meanwhile, Hungary is also exploring the possibility of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).