Will Florida's Money Laundering Laws Apply to Bitcoin?
Lawyers for the two men recently arrested in Miami for engaging in "too-large" bitcoin transactions are claiming that the men's actions were legal because state law covers only money issued by the US or another country. Many in the bitcoin community are hopeful that this argument is persuasive, seeing money laundering laws as an attempt to regulate thoughtcrime in finance. Others also argue that citizens do not currently owe the state of Florida any kind of explanation for why they want to buy or sell bitcoin. Sting operation. In what may be the first instance of citizens being charged....
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Ross Ulbricht, alleged Silk Road HBIC, is claiming that new federal bitcoin lawsclassifying bitcoin as assets and not money invalidate the money laundering charges he faces. In short, heargues that you can't launder money if you're not using it. Earlier this year, Robert Faiella, 52, and Charlie Shrem, 24, were arrested on federal money laundering charges for their bitcoin activity on Silk Road. It would stand to reason that if Ulbricht did not break anti-money laundering laws, they didn't either. The two allegedly sold more than $1 million in bitcoin to Silk Road users. Selling assets....
Authorities in Miami recently arrested two men in what may be the first instance of citizens being charged under state law for engaging in "too-large" bitcoin transactions. The two were contacted by undercover officers who were looking to exchange $30,000 dollars each for bitcoin, an amount which violates the state's money laundering laws. According toMiami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, undercover police officers conducted the stings looking for "individuals engaged in high volume Bitcoin activity." It's difficult to imagine a world in which undercover officers targeting....
At least two men in Florida have been charged for moving large volumes of bitcoins via the popular person-to-person exchange LocalBitcoins.com. They were charged under state anti-money-laundering laws following an investigation by the US Secret Service, said reports. Security blogger Brian Krebs reported that Michell Abner Espinoza of Miami Beach was arrested after a sting in which an undercover agent engaged him in a fake transaction to convert $30,000 worth of cash into bitcoins. In addition, 29-year-old Pascal Reid was also arrested after meeting with an undercover agent to exchange....
The anti-money laundering bill concerning bitcoin Florida legislators just passed via an appropriations committee has been approved May 6 by both houses. The only remaining step in the process is for Florida’s governor to sign it into law, in which case it will go into full effect. The intent of the bill is to prevent money-launderers from using bitcoin....
Is it possible to be laundering money with Bitcoin if it’s not legally considered money? A court case in Florida may be about to give us an answer. Can’t Launder Money If It’s Not Money. The by-now infamous case concerns Michel Espinoza, a young computer programmer and early bitcoin trader arrested in January 2014, and later charged with dealing in....