Liberty Reserve owner arrested in spain

Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, describes a chart showing the global interests of Liberty Reserve, on May 28, 2013. Arthur Budovsky,the founder of Liberty Reserve, was indicted in the United States along with six other people in a $6 billion money-laundering scheme described as "staggering" in its scope, authorities said Tuesday. Photographer: Richard Drew/AP Photo

The owner of  Liberty Reserve, Arthur Budovsky Belanchuk, has been arrested in Spain for money laundering.This was revealed by a joint investigation by the Spanish and US police agencies.

Background:
LIBERTY RESERVE was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and operated the digital currency commonly referred to as “LR.” While the company billed itself as the Internet’s “largest payment processor and money transfer system,” serving “millions” of people around the world, including the U.S., at no time did the company register with the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a money transmitting business, as required by law.
BUDOVSKY, the principal founder of LIBERTY RESERVE, directed and supervised its operations, finances, and corporate strategy. KATS, a co-founder, helped operate the company until 2009. The day-to-day operations of LIBERTY RESERVE were managed, at different times, by HIDALGO and YASSINE. EL AMINE managed various financial accounts controlled by LIBERTY RESERVE, while MARMILEV and CHUKHAREV were primarily responsible for designing and maintaining the company’s technological infrastructure.


Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Liberty Reserve, One Of World’s Largest Digital Currency Companies, And Seven Of Its Principals And Employees For Allegedly Running A $6 Billion Money Laundering Scheme
Liberty Reserve Allegedly Processed at Least 55 Million Illegal Transactions for at Least One Million Users Worldwide Facilitating Global Criminal Conduct
Investigation and Takedown Believed to Be the Largest International Money Laundering Prosecution in History, Involving Law Enforcement Actions in 17 Countries

The takedown of the Liberty Reserve digital cash exchange has caused "pain" to criminals who used the facility, according to a leading security expert.
According to the indictment, Liberty Reserve was estimated to have had "more than one million users worldwide", a fifth of whom were in the US.

#Source : BBC News and BloomBerg

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