Website boss indicted over ‘staggering’ money-laundering probe

The founder of an online currency transfer business was indicted in the United States along with six other people in a $6bn (€4.7bn) money-laundering scheme described as “staggering” in its scope, authorities said.

Arthur Budovsky is the founder of Liberty Reserve, a Costa Rica-based website long favoured by cybercrime scammers. He was arrested in Spain last Friday. A defendant identified as Budovsky’s partner, Vladimir Kats, was in custody in New York.

Authorities say the network processed at least 55m illegal transactions worldwide for 1m users, including 200,000 in the US. They call the money-laundering case the largest ever.