LibertyReserve.com Shuttered, Founder Arrested In Spain 138
hypnosec writes "Libertyreserve.com has been shut with the founder arrested by police in Spain this week over his alleged involvement in money laundering. Libertyreserve.com has been down for over three days now and the arrest seems to be the reason behind the outage. Arthur Budovsky Belanchuk, a 39-year-old male, has been arrested by Spanish authorities as a part of their ongoing investigations into money laundering. U.S. officials may very well seek his extradition."
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like the guy running Bitcoin should keep his anonymity?
That comment shows a complete lack of understanding of what Bitcoin is. What you just said is as vague as saying that "The guy running the Internet better watch his back!"
Regardless, the only reason I know about LibertyReserve is because of Bitcoin. LR used to be one of the few ways to reliably buy Bitcoins, but it looked way too shady for me so I found other ways.
U.S. officials may very well seek his extradition. (Score:2, Insightful)
When I read that part the first thing that popped into my head was, "the entire arrest could be bogus".
It's weird, when the U.S. is behind something like this then that increases the chances of the whole thing being bogus.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
N/T (Score:4, Insightful)
wtf is libertyreserve? how about a proper sumamary?
Re:he is not going to an resort prison (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not the justice system (alone) that's broken, it's the general public.
Where do annoying words come from? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:HSBC (Score:5, Insightful)
Only applies if you're Too Big To Fail.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:2, Insightful)
Sounds like the guy running Bitcoin should keep his anonymity?
That comment shows a complete lack of understanding of what Bitcoin is. What you just said is as vague as saying that "The guy running the Internet better watch his back!"
Regardless, the only reason I know about LibertyReserve is because of Bitcoin. LR used to be one of the few ways to reliably buy Bitcoins, but it looked way too shady for me so I found other ways.
I really hate to snap you back into reality here, but in the eyes of every single bank in the world, all possible ways to obtain Bitcoins is shady.
Of course, the real irony here is we're going after this guy for "laundering" while trillions sit in offshore accounts, untouched and unaccounted for, under massive tax shelters, as everyone in power simply laughs it off as if it were some kind of old-school ringknocker tradition, while the rest of us pay their taxes.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure why you are laboring under the impression that it was ever different. I'd say that despite all the corruption we have now, we still have more in the way of fairness and peace than we've generally had during most of the agrarian age.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:5, Insightful)
People of every age like to disasterbate about how bad it is. Yet every objective measure continues to show increasing lifespans and quality of life. Hell, our worst problem now is too many cheap calories per person, throwing a monkey wrench into one of the most historically useful measurements.
These indicators all scale directly with economic freedom, regardless of political narratives of either party. Hell, there shouldn't even be political narratives anymore. We have solved the problem: let people be free.
Re:Where do annoying words come from? (Score:5, Insightful)
Shuttered and closed have different implications in this case. Closed implies an orderly wind down, while shuttered implies a rapid and disorderly cessation. It's akin the difference between closing time at night a local restaurant, and the owners throwing everyone out in the middle of the day.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:5, Insightful)
If we put peace and fairness on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being perfect justice and no war/fighting, then if we go from a 15 to a 25, it's still an improvement, even if there's much left to be desired. Far more people in the world today do live safe and prosperous lives, lives that were once only for kings and clergy. A lot of people still don't, but it hasn't really gotten worse over the last 1000 years, say.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:U.S. officials may very well seek his extraditi (Score:4, Insightful)
The US government thinks that it needs to be able to spy on anyone's account, for any reason, at any time and if you don't agree to violate your customer's privacy you're aiding *insert scare-word of the day*.
I'm imagining that the US government is scared at its increasing financial irrelevance in the digital world. The US Dollar, currently the backbone of most financial transactions is in jeopardy. Digital, open currencies such as Bitcoin provide a transparent look at monetary policy and potentially can have more stability when compared to the US dollar which has the monetary policy of "whatever the hell Bernake thinks is best" and hard money like gold and silver make very good stores of wealth that cannot be devalued by printing.
Now, the total collapse of the US dollar is likely to be delayed because out of the major currencies (USD, Yen, Euro, Sterling) the USD looks to be the one in least jeopardy, but fiat currencies have a 100% rate of failure and its likely that the multitude of better currencies will hasten the end of the USD.
Money laundering is bad, mkay? (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember that time when biggest Wall Street and City of London banks were found guilty of laundering drug money? They all went to prison!
And by prison I mean got bonuses.
Re:Well that's vague. (Score:3, Insightful)