Icelandic Police regularly asked for assistance from abroad

Requests for assistance from Icelandic police in investigations abroad are common in cases where Icelandic servers are used to host illegal activities.

This was stated by police officer Steinarr Kr. Ómarsson in an interview with mbl.is.

Morgunblaðið reported yesterday that a so-called “Bitcoin laundering operation” had been hosted on a server in Iceland, and that the FBI had sought the help of Icelandic police in investigating the case.

Condition: Must violate Icelandic law

Ómarsson explained that Iceland has strong infrastructure, including in the field of data centers, which brings both benefits and challenges.

“It’s our role in the police to try to protect this infrastructure here in Iceland and track down those who use it to host illegal activities. The investigation into this Bitcoin laundering operation is an example of that,” he said.

Requests for Icelandic police assistance in investigating cases where illegal activities are suspected to be hosted on Icelandic servers come from various countries, according to Ómarsson.

Court authorization required

“Investigations often lead to Iceland, and then we provide assistance. Similarly, our own investigations often lead abroad, and we’ve received help from outside. This is reciprocal legal assistance that we engage in with other nations we cooperate with,” he noted.

He stressed, however, that Icelandic police only provide help if the alleged conduct violates Icelandic law. Moreover, police cannot take action until a court ruling has been issued granting authorization.