US makes Bitcoin exchange arrests
BBC | Monday, 27 January 2014
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 Sunday at New York’s JFK airport. Mr Faiella was arrested Monday at his home in Cape Coral, Florida.
Mr Shrem is a founding member and the current vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group set up to promote Bitcoin as an alternative currency.