The founder of Liberty Reserve has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for using his Costa Rica-based virtual currency business to help cyber criminals launder money, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.
Arthur Budovsky, 42, the founder of the Costa Rica-based cyber-currency operation Liberty Reserve, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to run a money laundering operation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Arthur Budovsky, 40, who renounced his U.S. citizenship and acquired Costa Rica nationality in an apparent bid to avoid prosecution, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if found guilty by a U.S. district court in Manhattan.
Budovsky is accused of being the "principal founder" of the Costa Rica-based scheme, which is accused of laundering more than $6 billion for criminals between 2006 and 2013.
The FBI asked the Costa Rican woman who married the online currency company's founder, Arthur Budovsky, to testify in a money laundering trial in the U.S.
