As such, Bestmixer.io, one of the top cryptocurrency mixing services, has been “clamped down” and sanctioned by a bevy of European authorities, according to information from Europol. The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, working with Europol, Luxembourgian authorities and net security company McAfee, investigated the company in what is considered the first law enforcement action of its kind.

Mixed Feelings About Mixed Transactions, Anonymity

According to information from Europol, the investigation, which began in June 2018, led to the seizure of six severs in Luxembourg and the Netherlands. As of press time, the bestmixer.io website and https://bestmixer.io/en/resources/press page were not functioning.

“A cryptocurrency tumbler or cryptocurrency mixing service is a service offered to mix potentially identifiable or 'tainted' cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to obscure the trail back to the fund's original source,” reads the announcement from Europol. “The investigation so far into this case has shown that many of the mixed cryptocurrencies on Bestmixer.io had a criminal origin or destination. In these cases, the mixer was probably used to conceal and launder criminal flows of money.”

Bestmixer.io offered mixing services for bitcoins, litecoins and bitcoin cash and has operated since May 2018. Europol claims it produced $200 million in turnover while promising its customers would remain anonymous. Not everyone was happy about the action, though.

From Twitter:
Sjors Provoost‏ @provoost May 22
"Dutch law enforcement took down a mixer today and apparantly charged them with money laundering. I find this a very worrying precedent, because mixers are currently the only tool to mitigate Bitcoin's poor on chain privacy. This action puts lives at risk." In fact, new data reported by Dash News shows mixed transactions are up 300% in recent months. The data was provided by Adam Fiscor, the CTO of Wasabi Wallet, which itself executes mixing services. According to the article, Wasabi Wallet helped spark a more than 4% increase in bitcoin networking mixing transactions.

Bestmixer.io Not the Only European Fintech in Trouble

In addition to the legal troubles facing Bestmixer, another fintech figure is also looking at serious accusations of foul play and malfeasance. Former entrepreneur Barry van Mourik has been arrested by Dutch police and has been accused of conning investors out of $25 million in a faux bitcoin mining operation, reads a Cointelegraph article. “Posing as the operator of a mining farm, van Mourik accrued client funds while allegedly failing to purchase any equipment, instead reportedly spending the money on luxury items,” the article reads.

Additionally, van Mourik was previously involved in a lawsuit involving Koinz Trading, another operation in his purview, when customers claimed the promised benefits from the outfit never materialized. In November, his home was raided, items seized and Koinz Trading declared bankrupt