The Associated Press reported authorities had confiscated USD 28 million worth of bitcoins from Ross William Ulbricht. He was the man charged with operating Silk Road. An online black market bazaar, Silk Road used bitcoins to buy and sell drugs and even hire killers. According to US Attorney Preet Bharara, over 144,000 bitcoins were seized on Ulbricht's computer hardware.
Reuters reported that the seizures were made in relation to the civil action filed against Ulbricht and his now-defunct website. Ulbricht would be appearing in a federal court to answer charges against him. Authorities have charged him with narcotics trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and computer hacking conspiracy.
Silk Road began operations in 2011. Court documents said that during its two-year operations, an estimated USD 1.2 billion worth of bitcoins was traded in the site. Silk Road charge commissions ranging from 8% to 15%.
Federal agents had seized close to 30,000 bitcoins before. The current raid brought to USD 33 million the total worth of the digital currency taken from Silk Road based on current value.
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