Thread: Liberty Reserve owner arrested, charged with money laundering, website offline

On Jan 27, in Madrid court, Budovsky stated that he is a victim of a witch hunt by FBI, beacuse they asked him LR source code in 2011 and he refused to give it :)

Budovsky said he was the victim of witch hunt which began in 2011, when the FBI asked him for the source code for Liberty's Reserve. Source codes are full technical read-outs of a software program's operation, and although Budovsky didn't explicitly says why the FBI wanted it, he suggested U.S. authorities wanted to use it to undermine the business.

Digital Currency Founder: U.S. Indicted Me For Not Giving FBI My Source Code | Threat Level | Wired.com


Man, did he loose his mind in jail ? or he was always that dumb ?

Yeah, sure , It costs much less to start a multi national investigations, seizures , legal expenses than code a payment processor in PHP, about 100 (man-hours) :)

Did Costa Rica wanted same source code from him, starting in 2010 ? :)


Why FBI never asked source code from the guy who actually wrote it? :)


PS: there is some interesting story will come from sealed docs during or before the trial, his personal conversation with the undercover agent :)

Budovsky_Jan27.JPG


Arthur Budovsky stands in court in Madrid, Monday Jan. 27, 2014. Budovsky, accused of founding a currency fund transfer business that allegedly helped criminals move money around the world, has decided to fight U.S. efforts to extradite him from Spain.
(Javier Lizon/AP)

Spain sending Liberty Reserve founder to face U.S. laundering charges

The founder of a global online cash transfer business could be sent to the U.S. to face charges that his company laundered $6 billion, a Spanish court ruled Friday.

Arthur Budovsky was arrested on a U.S. warrant when he arrived in Madrid last May after Liberty Reserve was shut down and U.S. authorities accused him of helping "fraudsters, hackers and traffickers."

Budovksy, a former U.S. citizen who became a Costa Rican national, has fought extradition. His lawyer Gonzalo Boye has said he would appeal if he lost. Boye could not be reached for comment Friday.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has accused Budovsky and six other defendants of running a "financial hub of the cybercrime world," facilitating credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and drug trafficking.

Liberty Reserve had never registered with the U.S. Treasury Department as a money transferring business, even though it had more than 1 million customers worldwide, including 200,000 U.S. customers. It handled 12 million financial transactions a year, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Budovsky, at an extradition hearing late last month, denied the charges. He said he ran a legitimate business that had "zero tolerance" for dealing with shady clients, and had cooperated with local authorities whenever he came across any suspicious activity.

He told the court that he had suffered from sleepless nights and emotional stress during his months in prison. He said the U.S. case was motivated by a desire to monopolize global money transfers, and his company was seen as "a threat to this monopoly."

Budovsky said he sold his shares in the company in 2007, and then served as a consultant. His expertise, he said, is in internet technology.


CNN money

More are finally coming to NY

Law360, New York (February 28, 2014, 4:36 PM ET) -- Two men charged as part of a historic money laundering case against digital currency operator Liberty Reserve will soon be extradited to the U.S., a New York federal prosecutor said Friday.

Liberty Reserve account manager Azzeddine El Amine is expected to arrive in the U.S. from Spain within 30 days, while technology worker Maxim Chukharev is expected to arrive from Costa Rica within 30 to 60 days, Assistant U.S. Attorney Serrin Turner said at a Manhattan court hearing. ...

Feds Say 2 Liberty Reserve Employees To Be Extradited - Law360

Oh, boy...
Maxim Chukarev literally sewed his mouth shut.

Maxim Chukharev, a Ukranian and Russian citizen and Costa Rican resident who is currently jailed in Costa Rica in connection with his role in Liberty Reserve, took a very unusual approach to protest his potential extradition to the United States: Chukharev literally sewed his mouth shut.

Chukharev, who is jailed in the San Sebastian prison, was found sewing his mouth shut using dental floss and a sewing needle in a makeshift “operating room” he assembled in his cell.
Apparently, Chukharev later began cutting his abdomen as guards intervened.
According to the daily Diario Extra, Chukharev has also been on hunger strike.

“It’s a form of protest to the Constitutional Court for all the irregularities that have occurred, the fact they are driven by pressure from the U.S. Government,” Chukharev told the newspaper.

....

read more: Man jailed in Liberty Reserve case literally sews mouth shut to protest possible extradition - Inside Costa Rica | Inside Costa Rica

Maxim Chukarev arrived to New York

Costa Rica extradites Liberty Reserve defendant Maxim Chukharev to US

Even that Spain approved extradition of Artur Budovsky to U.S. , his legal team is fighting hard to prevent it and successful so far.

Diario Extra

HEHE, 30 terabytes of digital evidence :) - DOC 73


LR_trial_postpone.jpg

In this case, they can be referred to as 'terriblebytes'

Originally Posted by Whip

In this case, they can be referred to as 'terriblebytes'

She should ask judge to Fax it ;)

Today is 1 year anniversary since LR bust

Azzeddine El Amine, 47, of Costa Rica, one of Liberty Reserve's principals, pleads guilty in US court.

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

...
The judge said El Amine is cooperating with the U.S., which she will take into consideration when she sentences him. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, Cote said.
...

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

...
“I admit that I was involved in a conspiracy to commit money laundering,” El Amine told Cote today. He said that he worked as an assistant to Arthur Budovsky, a Liberty Reserve founder, and that the firm moved money for criminals.
...

Originally Posted by Bloomberg

...
Asked by Cote today what kind of criminal activity Liberty Reserve facilitated, El Amine said, “credit card fraud and Ponzi schemes.”
...

Liberty Reserve Manager Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy - Bloomberg

Mark Marmilev, 35, of Brooklyn, New York (CTO of LR) pleads guilty

CTO for Liberty Reserve payment network pleads guilty | PCWorld

Maxim Chukarev, Russian citizen, resident of Costa Rica , (IT Manager of LR) pleads guilty

Former Liberty Reserve Information Technology Manager Pleads Guilty: DOJ - WSJ

Department of Justice

United States Attorneys Office

Finally,

Arthur Budovsky was extradited from Spain to US on friday and is scheduled to appear in New York court on tuesday.

Liberty Reserve Founder Budovsky Extradited to U.S. From Spain - WSJ

Department of Justice press release

Tuesday in NY court:


Arthur Budovsky pleaded not guilty.
His Attorney is Steven Frankel
His approximate trial date is set for September 21, 2015
Will be detained pending trial.

detained in custody until September 2015 ???

I guess money laundering is looked upon a lot differently in the modern era than it once was

Good catch by Oz over on BEHINDMLM.com

It looks like ramifications of the Liberty Reserve bust will be going on for years to come.

NSW Police arrest another alleged Liberty Reserve fraudster

32nd arrest in hacking ring.

The NSW Police has arrested its 32nd suspect in an ongoing investigation into a major hacking and identity fraud ring headquartered in Australia, which utilised the Liberty Reserve online anonymous payments system to launder funds.

Two weeks after announcing its 28th arrest in the case, the NSW Police today revealed a another 28 year old man had been arrested at his residence in Carnes Hill before being charged with three counts of dealing in the proceeds of crime yesterday.

NSW Police detectives allege the man used false documentation to access a bank account not belonging to him in April 2013, which he later transferred $98,000 out of and into his own bank account.

He also faces charges relating to being an accessory to attempted fraud, using false documents, and participating in a criminal group

You can read the complete original story on IT News.com.au

Of course it will, FEDs did not even start going through the list of big LR clients ;)

Mark Marmilev, 35, of Brooklyn, NY
Today was sentenced to 5 years in prison

Ex-Liberty Reserve Exec Gets 5 Years in Prison - ABC News

Updated Marmilev's docket: Case docket: USA v. Kats et al
If someone needs any doc from it let me know.