A former investigative officer of the Koninklijke Marechaussee is suspected of misusing police systems to which he had legitimate access in order to steal more than €6,000 in cryptocurrency from a traveler at Schiphol Airport.
According to the Openbaar Ministerie (OM), the incident began late last year when the victim was subjected to a routine check at a departure gate. A corresponding entry was created in a police registration system. Several hours later the suspect queried that entry and continued searching other systems available to him, eventually discovering a notification that contained, among other details, a recovery code for the traveler’s cryptocurrency wallet.
The officer used the recovery code to gain access to the wallet, transferred approximately €6,000 to his own cryptocurrency account, and immediately converted the funds into euros via his personal bank account. He then reinvested the money in various cryptocurrencies. In the following period the suspect conducted roughly twenty additional searches across multiple police databases, apparently to monitor developments in the victim’s case.
The traveler reported the theft to the police more than a week after discovering the missing funds. Early this year the suspect became aware that he was under investigation and reviewed the police file containing the relevant reports and requests for information. He claimed that another person had transferred the cryptocurrency to his account. The Marechaussee subsequently dismissed the officer.
The OM has requested a six-month custodial sentence and has asked the court to order full repayment of the stolen cryptocurrency to the victim.
