Mintable has recently developed an innovative NFT that has been used by investigators to trace millions of stolen cryptocurrencies.
Intelligent Sanctuary, an investigative firm advised by former Met Chief Lord Hogan-Howe, has been granted permission by a Singapore court to issue a global freezing order through the use of NFTs in a lawsuit.
See below for full details.
Mintable revolutionises the tracking of millions of stolen cryptocurrencies
As expected, Mintable, a company focused on innovation and expansion in the non-fungible token (NFT) space, has developed a unique NFT designed to facilitate the recovery of millions of dollars in stolen crypto.
This new NFT was created on behalf of Intelligent Sanctuary (iSanctuary), a London-based financial investigative agency that identified, tracked and located millions of stolen cryptocurrencies following a major financial fraud.
The NFT includes a worldwide freezing order (WFO) granted by the Singapore High Court, setting a precedent in the Southeast Asian city-state’s legal system.
iSanctuary, which counts former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe as Chairman of its Advisory Board, is working with Mintable’s B2B services brand, Mintology.app, as part of an ongoing investigation into international financial crime involving the theft of a cryptocurrency key known as a ‘private password’ and the subsequent fraudulent transfer of millions of cryptocurrency coins into private wallets.
Lord Hogan-Howe, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner and Chairman of the Smart Sanctuary Advisory Board, said:
“Innovation and ingenuity have long been reliable allies in forensic investigation and recovery, and this is an excellent and exciting example of that. As technology evolves, so do criminal methods, and the pace of technological change is faster than ever.
It is therefore vital that we have people and organisations willing to work together to stay one step ahead and ensure that wrongdoing never pays. Criminals need to get the message loud and clear: no matter how sophisticated the crime, we have the tools and the determination to track you down.”
Mintable launches innovative NFTs to recover stolen crypto assets
The inherently digital nature of stolen assets has prompted an application to the Singapore court for permission to issue a WFO (Worldwide Freezing Order) in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token) that can publicly identify cryptocurrencies when attempts are made to transfer, exchange or spend stolen cryptocurrencies.
Mintology used Soulbound token technology to mint the NFT carrying the WFO and permanently attach it to the target wallets. Soulbound tokens are immutable and cannot be transferred once received.
Zach Burks, founder of Mintable and Mintology, created a unique NFT containing all the legal documents prepared by iSanctuary, along with a mechanism for iSanctuary’s investigators to notify the Singapore court of the freezing order.
Zach Burks, founder and CEO of Mintable, said:
“Helping to thwart crypto fraud is just one powerful example of the groundbreaking new uses for NFT technology being developed at Mintology. Our NFTs can offer a cutting edge to businesses and organisations in a wide array of applications, industries, and sectors, from education to gaming, and hospitality to legal services.
As societies increasingly embrace the possibilities afforded by an open-source, decentralised digital environment, NFTs will become a mainstay of functional, secure, and universal products and services. Mintology and Mintable are at the forefront of this evolution.”
Mintology revolutionises stolen cryptocurrency recovery with NFT Soulbound
Mintology.app, based on technology developed by Zach Burks and the Mintable team, is the first known NFT company to use Soulbound token technology in a legal context.
This solution represents a new approach to the use of NFT in legal cases in Singapore, where the High Court has recognised cryptocurrencies as a form of property.
Furthermore, this innovation has been implemented in collaboration with Intelligent Sanctuary, an investigative agency led by Jonathan Benton, former Head of the UK’s International Anti-Corruption and Criminal Finance Unit at the Metropolitan Police Service.
Jonathan Benton commented:
“To meet the challenging needs of this complex digital fraud, we exclusively approached Mintology to gain their specialist Web3 expertise and history of NFT innovation. We understood that a crime involving digital assets on a blockchain requires a digital-first solution and we need to be one step ahead of the criminals. With the endorsement and direction of the Singapore courts, together, iSanctuary and Mintable have demonstrated an innovative approach to tackling illegal activity.”