Silk Road administrator denies money laundering: bitcoin is not a currency

Ross Ulbricht, the man accused of being the Silk Road administrator ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’, not only denies having any affiliation with the website, but also argues that he cannot be charged with money laundering as bitcoin is not a recognized currency. is.

Ulbricht is seen by the American judiciary as the man behind Silk Road, although he denies this himself. He is charged with hacking, drug trafficking, being part of a criminal organization and money laundering. That writes Forbes. The lawyers are fighting the latest charge, that of money laundering, with a reference to the US tax authorities. Since the bitcoin is not seen by the IRS as a means of payment but as a property, it cannot be called money laundering, they say.

Ulbricht’s lawyers argue that the charges of hacking, drug trafficking and the criminal conspiracy are “unconstitutionally broad” and furthermore that Ulbricht bears no responsibility for what Silk Road users did on the site. At most he could be seen as a facilitator of the activities. Ulbricht faces 20 years in prison. The Silk Road opened its virtual doors in 2011 and was closed by the FBI in October of last year. The prosecutors claim to have eight to 10 terabytes of evidence against Ulbricht.