No liberty for alleged money launderer Budovsky

Digital currency bitcoin's fluctuating value has received significant attention lately; however, it's Liberty Reserve, a digital currency provider founded in 2006, that is under the gun right now. Liberty Reserve founder, Arthur Budovsky, and six other individuals were indicted by the U.S. government for allegedly laundering over $6 billion in criminal proceeds. Though the operation served legitimate customers, it allegedly aided such illegal activities as drug trafficking, identity theft and child pornography. According to media reports, Liberty Reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica and never registered as a money transmitter in the United States, where it had an estimated 200,000 customers. At a May 28, 2013, press conference in Manhattan, federal prosecutors stated they believe this is the largest money-laundering case in history and likened Budovsky to Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone. Budovsky was arrested in Spain on May 24.

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