Azzeddine El Amine, Money Laundering, New York 2006

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Table of Contents

Money Launderer Pleads Guilty in NY

Azzeddine El Amine, 47, of San José, Costa Rica, pleaded guilty today to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with his role in running Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world’s most widely used digital currency services.

Crime Spree

According to allegations contained in the indictment and statements made in related court proceedings, Liberty Reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and billed itself as the Internet’s “largest payment processor and money transfer system.” Liberty Reserve was created, structured and operated to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes, and it emerged as one of the principal money transfer agents used by cybercriminals around the world to distribute, store, and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity.

Role in Scheme

El Amine served as a principal deputy to Liberty Reserve founder Arthur Budovsky and operated a prominent Liberty Reserve “exchanger” service, through which he shared in Liberty Reserve’s profits with Budovsky. Before being shut down by the government in May 2013, Liberty Reserve had more than one million users worldwide, including more than 200,000 users in the United States, who conducted approximately 55 million transactions through its system and laundered more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes, including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.

Arrest and Charges

El Amine was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in May 2013, and pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, one count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

Investigation and Prosecution

This case is being investigated by the Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, which worked together as part of the Global Illicit Financial Team. The charges contained in the indictment against El Amine’s co-defendants remain pending and are merely accusations. Those defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Justice Served

The Justice Department expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by various enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad, including the Secret Service’s New York Electronic Crimes Task Force, the Judicial Investigation Organization in Costa Rica, the National High Tech Crime Unit in the Netherlands, the Spanish National Police, Financial and Economic Crime Unit, the Cyber Crime Unit at the Swedish National Bureau of Investigation and the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Key Facts

State: New York
Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Cybercrime|White Collar Crime
Source: DOJ Press Release â†—

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