Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, addresses a news conference on Tuesday. (Richard Drew/AP)
In what may be the largest money-laundering bust in history, federal prosecutors have indicted the operators of Liberty Reserve, an online currency exchange that allegedly catered to identity thieves, child pornographers, and other criminals looking to hide their profits. Law-enforcement officials described the organization as “PayPal for criminals” and said the organization laundered more than $6 billion over the last seven years for customers around the globe. Liberty Reserve's founder, Arthur Budovsky, was arrested Friday in Spain. Investigators from 17 countries helped bring the indictments against Budovsky and six other Liberty Reserve employees.
