Bitcoin Exchange Operator Pleads Not Guilty to Money Laundering

The former operator of bitcoin exchange Coin.mx, Anthony Murgio, has plead not guilty to money laundering.

According to Bloomberg, Murgio also plead not guilty to operating the bitcoin exchange, wire fraud and conspiracy.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, Murgio was charged with one count of money laundering and one count of willful failure to submit a suspicious activity report. He was arrested alongside Yuri Lebedev in July and accused of using Coin.mx as a money channel for a series of online criminal enterprises.

Both him and Lebedev were charged with one count of conspiracy to create an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of running an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Earlier this month, US prosecutors unsealed a new indictment filed against Murgio. The court documents named charges against three other individuals: Gery Shalon, Joshua Aaron and Ziv Orenstein. All three were accused of money laundering, computer hacking and securities fraud charges.

According to the US government, Coin.mx is thought to have been used as a means to launder illicit funds.

Additionally, the three defendants are believed to have created a web of digital criminal activity, dating as far back as 2012, which included in a cyberattack against JPMorgan Chase last year.

Murgio, who is free on bond, is expected to appear in court for trial on 31st October 2016.

Man in courtroom image via Shutterstock