Bitcoin Foundation’s Shrem Charged in Silk Road Drug Case
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The vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation was charged by federal prosecutors with conspiring to launder more than $1 million in the virtual currency, the latest charges tied to the illicit online bazaar Silk Road.
Charlie Shrem, 24, was arrested as he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Jan. 26 after giving a speech in Amsterdam. In addition to his role with the foundation, an industry representative to regulators formed to oversee the currency’s software protocol, he was also chief executive officer of BitInstant, a Bitcoin exchange company.