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Liberty Reserve’s chief technology officer was Mark Marmilev. On September 11, 2014, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business that he knew involved funds derived from criminal activity. The U.S. Department of Justice’s plea announcement did not say he pleaded guilty to a money-laundering count, despite the broader wording used in the original headline.
What was Mark Marmilev’s role at Liberty Reserve?
The U.S. Department of Justice identified Marmilev as Liberty Reserve’s chief technology officer and an associate of founder Arthur Budovsky. Prosecutors said he was principally responsible for designing and maintaining the service’s technological infrastructure. In its September 11, 2014 announcement, the DOJ described Liberty Reserve as a global digital-currency and money-transfer system.
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Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell characterized the system as “a massive criminal infrastructure in cyberspace” and said it “laundered billions in criminal proceeds.” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the payment processor “catered largely to criminals.” These were prosecutors’ statements, not quotations from the court; the specific offense Marmilev admitted is described below. DOJ plea announcement, September 11, 2014.
What did the Liberty Reserve CTO plead guilty to?
Marmilev admitted conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business that he knew involved the transmission of funds derived from criminal activity. That is the plea described by the DOJ. The agency’s announcement does not identify his plea as a guilty plea to a money-laundering count, so the headline’s phrase “money laundering charges” should not be read as the precise legal name of the offense he admitted.
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The case involved allegations that Liberty Reserve facilitated transactions connected to criminal activity. That broader account is distinct from the charge Marmilev personally pleaded guilty to. His plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote in the Southern District of New York.
How large was Liberty Reserve?
According to court records cited in the DOJ’s 2014 account, Liberty Reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and shut down by the government in May 2013. The DOJ reported that before the shutdown the service had more than one million users worldwide, including more than 200,000 in the United States, and handled approximately 55 million transactions totaling more than $6 billion in funds.
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Those totals describe the scale of funds that passed through the service, not a finding that every dollar was criminal proceeds. The DOJ said the funds encompassed suspected proceeds associated with crimes including credit-card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking. DOJ account of Liberty Reserve’s operations, May 2013.
What sentence did Marmilev receive?
On December 12, 2014, Marmilev was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $250,000. The DOJ’s sentencing announcement said the court found he understood the illegal nature of Liberty Reserve’s business and knew criminal enterprises used it. DOJ sentencing announcement, December 12, 2014.
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How does Marmilev’s case differ from other Liberty Reserve pleas?
Marmilev was one of several defendants in the Liberty Reserve case. He should not be confused with co-founder Vladimir Kats, whose separate 2013 guilty plea involved different offenses. The DOJ’s release on Kats is useful for distinguishing the defendants, not for describing Marmilev’s plea. DOJ announcement on Vladimir Kats, October 31, 2013.
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