Image copyright Reuters in New York, was sentenced to 20 years in prison a former resident of Kiev Arthur Budovsky, founder of liberty Reserve company (LR), which federal prosecutors called one of the largest in the history of “laundry” laundering money.
in the case of LR in total are seven people. Among them – the other founder of the “laundry”? Vladimir Kats, with which 42-year-old teenager Budovsky met in Brooklyn, where they were counselors in summer camps for children.
According Budovsky defenders Katz cooperating with the investigation. He will hear the verdict on May 13.
In its advertising LR called itself “the largest payment system and money transfer” and, according to court documents, really laundered a total of approximately $ 8 billion.
Among the more than 5.5 million of its customers were not only cybercriminals, organizers of all kinds of pyramids, alien abductors of personal data and other shady characters who had the need to quickly and anonymously legalize criminal profits, but also honest people, happened to be in such company.
They are obviously in the minority: after the exposure LR federal prosecutors of the Southern District of New York announced that it is ready to return the money innocently affected customers “laundry”, and it is currently addressed about 50 people
At the same time Budovsky was arrested on the request of the United States in Spain. In October 2014 he was extradited to the United States, where his company was the most accounts – about 660 thousand. LR laundered between 1 and 1.8 billion dollars from these accounts.
In this regard, the leadership Budovsky role in the criminal organization and the volume passed through it sums he faces 30 years in prison to life term.
A late deal
for a long time for crimes without violence in America, almost no one is sitting. As usual, last year prosecutors offered Budovsky standard deal: he admits guilt, and she agrees to ask the judge Denise Cote did not give him more than 15 years
Budovsky obviously not yet ripe for such a step.. But the ripened in January, when the lawyers told prosecutors about his agreement to the deal just three days before the trial began. The train, however, was gone, and prosecutors offered no longer 15, and 20 years in prison
Few admit guilt:. It should be done “in a timely manner”, that is, as soon as possible so that the public prosecutor had not yet properly overspend to prepare for the process. In addition, sometimes it does not want ahead of time to provide protection of the investigation materials, which contain the names of confidential informants and testimony. In the language of the courts, these materials are referred to as “3500-s”.
Provide counsel “3500-e” in the end still have, but the prosecutor’s office is interested in that they have got to protect as late as possible. If the defendant early enough agrees to the deal, then this question is automatically removed. Since Budovsky knocked on the prosecutor’s door has a curtain, when his defense is almost all of the prosecutors received, they saw no reason to give him an extra five years of freedom.
Protection reared, but Judge Cote took the prosecutor and gave Budovsky requested them 20 years and ordered him to recover from the 122 million dollars
“This type of crime is so difficult to investigate and bring to court”, -. she said, explaining the severity of the sentence. Usually money laundering give a much less.
Cote also noted that Budovsky who did not use their right to the last word, did not show true repentance.
Before the verdict his lawyers sent Judge pile letters describing the virtues and the convicted person requests to show him leniency. One was from sitting with him prisoners
The defense also stressed ailments Budovsky and noted that it takes 10 pills a day, including depression, diabetes and pressure, -. And noted that he, happened, fell into a melancholy that weeks did not leave the house.
The lawyers challenged the prosecutor’s office cited figures, for example, noted that out of 5.5 million mentioned in the case of accounts more than 3 million a dime and never did not see. And most importantly, they tried to blame the lion’s share of the blame on Katz, who by profession and a lawyer, and an accountant, and Budovsky has no higher education. Lawyers quoted dialogue from the chat, in which Katz calls Budovsky fool and says that he “not cut”.
They argued that it was Katz developed a large laundry room idea and held in LR “dominant position”.
However, in 2008 Budovsky forced him out of the company, forcing it to sell its stake for 200 thousand dollars. Protection explained that at the time Katz was still under open police surveillance, while Budovsky it was over. Therefore Katz could not come to Costa Rica, and Budovsky finally managed to get rid of him.
Child porn
Police Supervision explained the case of illegal transfer of money that your friends have been arrested in New York in 2006, when they are parallel with the young LR holding company GoldAge, is engaged in transferring money without proper state license.
in search of the Katz found in the computer fair amount of child pornography. According to lawyers Budovsky, it was not the first time: according to them, in 1998, when Katz was still living with his parents, came to him with a search warrant, but he managed to destroy the evidence, which included risque videos and photos
<. p> He cooperated with the investigation and has admitted the fact of watching thousands of images of child pornography. As he helped law enforcement agencies, while his is not involved.
When they took with Budovsky in 2006 in the case GoldAge, Katz persuaded a friend along to plead guilty. They got off with probation and Katz in addition agreed not to disturb the child pornography.
Although LR moving to Costa Rica, Budovsky rid Katz, who maintained friendly relations with him. Lawyers Budovsky judge cited a conversation in which he asked Katz borrowed 25 thousand dollars to bring them Russian mafia. He allegedly lent them to her to give a bribe Ukrainian secret service SBU.
All this time, argued Budovsky lawyers Katz harbored a grudge against his former partner and was finally able to spoil him. According protect Budovsky Katz turned him in to the FBI and later gave evidence against him
. “He’s not an animal! – Said before the announcement of the verdict lawyer John Keighley on Budovsky -. He’s not the villain!”
The judge in response reminded of the countless victims of the fraudulent pyramid schemes, the profits from which the laundered through Budovsky company.
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