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Posted on 01/27/2014 9:25:02 AM PST by Errant
The operators of two exchanges for the virtual currency Bitcoin have been arrested in the US.
The Department of Justice said Robert Faiella, known as BTCKing, and Charlie Shrem from BitInstant.com have both been charged with money laundering.
The authorities said the pair were engaged in a scheme to sell more than $1m (£603,000) in bitcoins to users of online drug marketplace the Silk Road.
The site was shut down last year and its alleged owner was arrested.
Mr Shrem was arrested on Sunday at New York's JFK airport. He was expected to appear in court on Monday, prosecutors said.
Mr Faiella was arrested on Monday at his home in Cape Coral, Florida.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
DEA must be pi$$ed they didn’t get their cut.
BBC ... reporting news the msm won’t report
The government don’t like competition.
Looks like the Federal Reserve System has weighed in.
I'm confused...
5.56mm
Ekspecially, the Federal Reserve. I mean they gots all that old wareshoused in NY and Ft. Knox, don’t they? (Ask Germany about what they’re going through trying to get their own gold back from their safekeeping).
•Winklevoss-Funded Bitcoin Startup CEO Arrested In Silk Road Investigation [Forbes]
•Two Bitcoin exchange operators charged in money laundering scheme [Yahoo News]
•BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem Arrested for Alleged Money Laundering[Time]
old - Gold
Look. The Russians learned this decades ago. When you live in a communist dictatorship, as we do, you do NOT go to 'mainstream' sources for information. You have to find it elsewhere.
Within less than 2 or 3 years, accessing the BBC will be a felony crime here in the United Socialist States.
Expecting the US Federal Government to be constrained by archaic, quaint concepts such as “the law” is bound to result in disappointment.
Charging the Bitcoin operators with the crime of people using their service is exactly analogous to charging a gun manufacturer with the crime committed with his gun.
Here is the correct Link to the BBC story above: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25919482
I was wondering how long it would take before FEDs, not only in the US, but in other nations, would go after the bitcoin industry.
I recall in the early 1980s there was a small system of bartering. Initially, it was harmless and only impacted a few localities. But, it started to spread, and the FEDs moved in to tax and regulate it out of business.
Bitcoin seems to be a direct challenge to ‘legal tender’ and few, if any, nations are going to let that happen.
They were essentially just selling strings of text to willing buyers and there was no real “money” or objects exchanged in return.
If they lose, it sets the precedent that ANYTHING that someone out there considers to have value is subject to the identical controls that government cash is. Selling on ebay or selling texts to people could then be equal to money laundering if you don't follow banking regulations in every transaction.
I have a feeling we haven’t seen anything yet. Things are starting to heat up in a big way, and worldwide, and not just with Bitcoin. Arrests like these are NOT going be able to put the “Bitcoin Cat” back in the bag. This reminds me of the arrest of anti-Obama documentary directory and the purging of our military and the calls for the IRS to resume harassment of the Tea Party organizations.
A sad day for anarchists, libertarians, and drug addicts.
Charging the Bitcoin operators with the crime of people using their service is exactly analogous to charging a gun manufacturer with the crime committed with his gunOr a (non-Government Motors) car company for providing a get-away vehicle.
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