Prosecutors have made Scottish legal history by using proceeds of crime legislation to seize and convert a cryptocurrency stash into physical cash.

John Ross Rennie, 29, has been ordered to hand over £109,601 after his legal team reached an agreement with Crown prosecutors that the amount was derived from criminal activities.

Earlier this year, prosecutors brought Rennie, from Cambuslang, to court under proceeds of crime legislation. However, Judge Lady Ross delayed the case from last Monday because the initial proposed settlement involved cryptocurrency — specifically, 23.5 bitcoins.

Lady Ross postponed the proceedings as she sought legal clarity on whether cryptocurrency could be used in such settlements. But on Monday, at the High Court in Edinburgh, both legal teams agreed that the sum should be converted into cash, settling on the figure of £109,601.

Last year, Rennie was given a community payback order, which included 150 hours of unpaid work and six months of supervision, after he was acquitted of assault and robbery but convicted of resetting stolen property.

Sentencing judge Lord Scott remarked: “The fact that you are a first offender, albeit involved in an elaborate scheme to launder the proceeds of a robbery, is significant. Your role in what happened was pivotal, even if the jury concluded it did not extend to participating in the robbery itself.”

Rennie was found to have digital currency in an account following a late-night raid at a house in Blantyre on March 18, 2020. During this robbery, a woman was  injured after being struck with a personalised Toblerone chocolate bar.

This marked the first time in Scotland that police tracked stolen cryptocurrency. Specialist officers traced the funds to a bitcoin wallet controlled by Rennie, leading to the proceeds of crime case against him.

Lady Ross had asked lawyers to clarify whether a court could seize cryptocurrency, as such an order had never been made before. However, by Monday, both parties had resolved the issue, confirming to Lord Summers that Rennie had earned £109,601, the amount eligible for seizure.

Lord Summers then issued an order for the money to be surrendered to the authorities.