The FBI has arrested elusive Silk Road architect "Variety Jones" in Thailand

[bryant.coleman]

Legendary Russian arm dealer Viktor Bout was also arrested in Thailand. I guess this isn't a safe country to settle down if you're wanted by the FBI. He should have moved to Russia like Snowden, but I suppose he didn't like the weather up North.

Russia is not safe either. Russia has prosecuted owners of Bitcoin-based businesses in the past, and the authorities don't view crypto-currencies in a positive light. That said, I don't think that there is a single country in the world, where marketplaces such as Silk Road will be allowed to operate. Russia is no exception to this.

[crazywack]

This is definitely not Bitcoin Discussion...

Let's see what happens to this guy on trial. I just hope that mainstream media doesn't start saying that this guy is a Bitcoin expert and his business was based on Bitcoin

Eek sorry if i posted in wrong section.

Yea knowing the media they will label him "Bitcoin CEO" lol

I remember reading back in the day when someone related to Bitcoin, I think from the Bitcoin Foundation or something like that, committed suicide, I saw some news in some digital newspapers talking about how the "CEO of Bitcoin committed suicide yesterday", it was absolutely hilarious. People's misunderstanding on how Bitcoin works knows no limits whatsoever.

That was just a "CEO" of a lower volume exchange. The media will do anything to make Bitcoin look risky. The question is with all the VC money and big name companies investing is it more likely a well organized TROLL attempt to keep the public out of the space in order to get a large holding and footprint in this tech before it goes mainstream? I think so... My tangent for the day

As for VJ, he shouldn't of done the interview a few months back and brought publicity to himself.

[Blue_Tiger73]

OMG. This is definitely not a Bitcoin discussion topic. I have a feeling that the media is going to come out and say that the whole business was based around Bitcoin and just keep making Bitcoins reputation worse.

[chennan]

I have been paranoid enough about SR i would never even put those keywords in Google.
Takes a pretty huge idiot to think he has a way to be anon and untraceable on the internet.
Just boils down to a users resources and skills.
Even a dumb user who can barely surf the web could prob use all the NSA abilities to do a lot.
I generally group things as follows.. types of internet trackers.

- Morons.
- Intermediate users.
- Advanced users.
- Elite or Overly Motivated (guys who don't mind spending money for credit reports etc)
- General Law enforcement.
- Govt Agents with Custom Services or Tools + Expanded Special Resources.

So when guys think they can hide from all of the above i just roll my eyes and tell them..
Buy Monero !
..it's secure and untraceable

If the SilkRoad guys used Monero instead they might have gotten away with it.

HONEST i am a huge Monero supporter !

I argued with them about their "Anon" coin.. it gets old 
just let the idiots believe what they want..

lol, Spoetnik... your trolling antics never ceases to amaze me.  It's really entertaining to keep reading your butt hurt over another altcoin that goes against your precious pre-mined Dash.

Anyways, as for the story, doesn't this go against US jurisdiction? How is it really possible for them to arrest someone that is out of the country?  Is it because the US and the Thai's are allies?

[bubble83]

OMG. This is definitely not a Bitcoin discussion topic. I have a feeling that the media is going to come out and say that the whole business was based around Bitcoin and just keep making Bitcoins reputation worse.

The first stories about it are hitting the mainstream news. Reuters has written a story about it, and the only mention of bitcoin is that it's a virtual currency that Silk Road users bought drugs with. It doesn't do anything good for bitcoin's reputation when stories like this associate it with buying drugs.

http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-crime-silkroad-idUSL1N13U00K20151205#ScRHYEDX3z5wCLuY.97

Prosecutors said Clark, 54, was described by Ulbricht as a trusted "mentor" who regularly advised him on the management of Silk Road, a website that allowed users to anonymously buy drugs using the virtual currency bitcoin.

He faces up to life in prison based on charges of narcotics conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy contained in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan.

A lawyer for Clark could not be identified.

[Spoetnik]

I have been paranoid enough about SR i would never even put those keywords in Google.
Takes a pretty huge idiot to think he has a way to be anon and untraceable on the internet.
Just boils down to a users resources and skills.
Even a dumb user who can barely surf the web could prob use all the NSA abilities to do a lot.
I generally group things as follows.. types of internet trackers.

- Morons.
- Intermediate users.
- Advanced users.
- Elite or Overly Motivated (guys who don't mind spending money for credit reports etc)
- General Law enforcement.
- Govt Agents with Custom Services or Tools + Expanded Special Resources.

So when guys think they can hide from all of the above i just roll my eyes and tell them..
Buy Monero !
..it's secure and untraceable

If the SilkRoad guys used Monero instead they might have gotten away with it.

HONEST i am a huge Monero supporter !

I argued with them about their "Anon" coin.. it gets old  
just let the idiots believe what they want..

lol, Spoetnik... your trolling antics never ceases to amaze me.  It's really entertaining to keep reading your butt hurt over another altcoin that goes against your precious pre-mined Dash.

Anyways, as for the story, doesn't this go against US jurisdiction? How is it really possible for them to arrest someone that is out of the country?  Is it because the US and the Thai's are allies?

I have said a lot i couldn't care less about Dash.. never had 1 Dash coin ever.. nor will i.
Monero is the one who has aggressive gorilla marketing for their anon feature..
a feature many claim.

and your being a hypocrite attacking Dash on this topic.

i have said i have issues with all coins who proclaim to be untraceable..
such as Monero who had Hoodies made up with that printed on the front LOL

My comment earlier was about altcoins that claim to be anonymous and untraceable.
WHY would they claim those features ?
You really think those features are not being advertised to the past Silk Road crowd ?
Bold grand claims.. that will land you in jail one day !

I say screw Monero and -ALL- coins who claim to be secure, anonymous and untraceable.. just like it says on Monero Merch LOL

And hell yeah that is on-topic too ..think about it.

[frank0929]

I don't understand. How come FBI arrest a person outside of the USA borders? They don't have the authority. They don't have right to arrest anyone.
Or is it because Thailand is in the back garden of the USA? If that's the thing that makes sense.

[cellard]

I have been paranoid enough about SR i would never even put those keywords in Google.
Takes a pretty huge idiot to think he has a way to be anon and untraceable on the internet.
Just boils down to a users resources and skills.
Even a dumb user who can barely surf the web could prob use all the NSA abilities to do a lot.
I generally group things as follows.. types of internet trackers.

- Morons.
- Intermediate users.
- Advanced users.
- Elite or Overly Motivated (guys who don't mind spending money for credit reports etc)
- General Law enforcement.
- Govt Agents with Custom Services or Tools + Expanded Special Resources.

So when guys think they can hide from all of the above i just roll my eyes and tell them..
Buy Monero !
..it's secure and untraceable

If the SilkRoad guys used Monero instead they might have gotten away with it.

HONEST i am a huge Monero supporter !

I argued with them about their "Anon" coin.. it gets old  
just let the idiots believe what they want..

lol, Spoetnik... your trolling antics never ceases to amaze me.  It's really entertaining to keep reading your butt hurt over another altcoin that goes against your precious pre-mined Dash.

Anyways, as for the story, doesn't this go against US jurisdiction? How is it really possible for them to arrest someone that is out of the country?  Is it because the US and the Thai's are allies?

I have said a lot i couldn't care less about Dash.. never had 1 Dash coin ever.. nor will i.
Monero is the one who has aggressive gorilla marketing for their anon feature..
a feature many claim.

and your being a hypocrite attacking Dash on this topic.

i have said i have issues with all coins who proclaim to be untraceable..
such as Monero who had Hoodies made up with that printed on the front LOL

My comment earlier was about altcoins that claim to be anonymous and untraceable.
WHY would they claim those features ?
You really think those features are not being advertised to the past Silk Road crowd ?
Bold grand claims.. that will land you in jail one day !

I say screw Monero and -ALL- coins who claim to be secure, anonymous and untraceable.. just like it says on Monero Merch LOL

And hell yeah that is on-topic too ..think about it.

To be honest I don't think you can say Monero isn't more anonymous than Bitcoin as it is now. Im pro-Bitcoin and don't own any Monero but Bitcoin is right now not anonymous enough. It's getting better and at some point I think it will be as anonymous as other alternatives such as Monero, but nor right now. I cant wait for confidential translations.

[Soros Shorts]

I don't understand. How come FBI arrest a person outside of the USA borders? They don't have the authority. They don't have right to arrest anyone.
Or is it because Thailand is in the back garden of the USA? If that's the thing that makes sense.

Of course they technically cannot. They asked the Thai police to arrest him and then they'd need to extradite him back. Depending on the country, the alleged crime and any extradition treaties in place, this is not always possible. For lesser crimes it may be possible for the person to live in the open in many countries and the FBI can't even touch them.

[bryant.coleman]

I don't understand. How come FBI arrest a person outside of the USA borders? They don't have the authority. They don't have right to arrest anyone.
Or is it because Thailand is in the back garden of the USA? If that's the thing that makes sense.

They don't have the right to arrest anyone. But they frequently arrest suspects (including foreign nationals) from locations which are completely outside their jurisdiction. Recently, a Russian national (Roman Valerevich Seleznev, also known as Track2) was arrested in the Maldives by the American authorities, and brought to Guam.

[QuestionAuthority]

I don't understand. How come FBI arrest a person outside of the USA borders? They don't have the authority. They don't have right to arrest anyone.
Or is it because Thailand is in the back garden of the USA? If that's the thing that makes sense.

They probably did just arrest him in Thailand. I doubt they even needed the local police to do it. During the Vietnam war us troops took their leave in Thailand and the US helped keep Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge from attacking Thailand. Air America (the CIA) helped overthrow prince Sihanouk because he was allowing the Viet Cong and north Vietnamese army regulars to travel freely in Cambodia. We B-52 bombed the shit out of Cambodia several times and kept the war and the Viet Cong sanctuaries on the eastern border away from Thailand. Ever since then Thailand has been a close ally of the US. More American citizens probably live in Thailand than live in the state of Rhode Island. Running from American law enforcement by going to Thailand is comparable to running from DC cops by hiding in Virginia.

[Bitcoinpro]

If u believe in Va riety Jones u also believe in the tooth fairy

and everything Frankie says as gospel 

 

[mattjack]

If u believe in Va riety Jones u also believe in the tooth fairy

and everything Frankie says as gospel 

 

The toothfairy is for real! Stop ruining my youth.

[Spoetnik]

I have been paranoid enough about SR i would never even put those keywords in Google.
Takes a pretty huge idiot to think he has a way to be anon and untraceable on the internet.
Just boils down to a users resources and skills.
Even a dumb user who can barely surf the web could prob use all the NSA abilities to do a lot.
I generally group things as follows.. types of internet trackers.

- Morons.
- Intermediate users.
- Advanced users.
- Elite or Overly Motivated (guys who don't mind spending money for credit reports etc)
- General Law enforcement.
- Govt Agents with Custom Services or Tools + Expanded Special Resources.

So when guys think they can hide from all of the above i just roll my eyes and tell them..
Buy Monero !
..it's secure and untraceable

If the SilkRoad guys used Monero instead they might have gotten away with it.

HONEST i am a huge Monero supporter !

I argued with them about their "Anon" coin.. it gets old  
just let the idiots believe what they want..

lol, Spoetnik... your trolling antics never ceases to amaze me.  It's really entertaining to keep reading your butt hurt over another altcoin that goes against your precious pre-mined Dash.

Anyways, as for the story, doesn't this go against US jurisdiction? How is it really possible for them to arrest someone that is out of the country?  Is it because the US and the Thai's are allies?

I have said a lot i couldn't care less about Dash.. never had 1 Dash coin ever.. nor will i.
Monero is the one who has aggressive gorilla marketing for their anon feature..
a feature many claim.

and your being a hypocrite attacking Dash on this topic.

i have said i have issues with all coins who proclaim to be untraceable..
such as Monero who had Hoodies made up with that printed on the front LOL

My comment earlier was about altcoins that claim to be anonymous and untraceable.
WHY would they claim those features ?
You really think those features are not being advertised to the past Silk Road crowd ?
Bold grand claims.. that will land you in jail one day !

I say screw Monero and -ALL- coins who claim to be secure, anonymous and untraceable.. just like it says on Monero Merch LOL

And hell yeah that is on-topic too ..think about it.

To be honest I don't think you can say Monero isn't more anonymous than Bitcoin as it is now. Im pro-Bitcoin and don't own any Monero but Bitcoin is right now not anonymous enough. It's getting better and at some point I think it will be as anonymous as other alternatives such as Monero, but nor right now. I cant wait for confidential translations.

to be honest..... That does not sound like the definition of "untraceable" to me.

[Spoetnik]

I don't understand. How come FBI arrest a person outside of the USA borders? They don't have the authority. They don't have right to arrest anyone.
Or is it because Thailand is in the back garden of the USA? If that's the thing that makes sense.

They don't have the right to arrest anyone. But they frequently arrest suspects (including foreign nationals) from locations which are completely outside their jurisdiction. Recently, a Russian national (Roman Valerevich Seleznev, also known as Track2) was arrested in the Maldives by the American authorities, and brought to Guam.

FBI had their kim dotcom raid in New Zealand supervised by local cops.

[Spoetnik]

If u believe in Va riety Jones u also believe in the tooth fairy

and everything Frankie says as gospel 

 

Who got arrested then you think ?

[Bitcoinpro]

If u believe in Variety Jones u also believe in the tooth fairy

and everything Frankie says as gospel 

 

Who got arrested then you think ?

the tooth fairy 

[Spoetnik]

I have been paranoid enough about SR i would never even put those keywords in Google.
Takes a pretty huge idiot to think he has a way to be anon and untraceable on the internet.
Just boils down to a users resources and skills.
Even a dumb user who can barely surf the web could prob use all the NSA abilities to do a lot.
I generally group things as follows.. types of internet trackers.

- Morons.
- Intermediate users.
- Advanced users.
- Elite or Overly Motivated (guys who don't mind spending money for credit reports etc)
- General Law enforcement.
- Govt Agents with Custom Services or Tools + Expanded Special Resources.

So when guys think they can hide from all of the above i just roll my eyes and tell them..
Buy Monero !
..it's secure and untraceable

If the SilkRoad guys used Monero instead they might have gotten away with it.

HONEST i am a huge Monero supporter !

I argued with them about their "Anon" coin.. it gets old  
just let the idiots believe what they want..

lol, Spoetnik... your trolling antics never ceases to amaze me.  It's really entertaining to keep reading your butt hurt over another altcoin that goes against your precious pre-mined Dash.

Anyways, as for the story, doesn't this go against US jurisdiction? How is it really possible for them to arrest someone that is out of the country?  Is it because the US and the Thai's are allies?

I have said a lot i couldn't care less about Dash.. never had 1 Dash coin ever.. nor will i.
Monero is the one who has aggressive gorilla marketing for their anon feature..
a feature many claim.

and your being a hypocrite attacking Dash on this topic.

i have said i have issues with all coins who proclaim to be untraceable..
such as Monero who had Hoodies made up with that printed on the front LOL

My comment earlier was about altcoins that claim to be anonymous and untraceable.
WHY would they claim those features ?
You really think those features are not being advertised to the past Silk Road crowd ?
Bold grand claims.. that will land you in jail one day !

I say screw Monero and -ALL- coins who claim to be secure, anonymous and untraceable.. just like it says on Monero Merch LOL

And hell yeah that is on-topic too ..think about it.

To be honest I don't think you can say Monero isn't more anonymous than Bitcoin as it is now. Im pro-Bitcoin and don't own any Monero but Bitcoin is right now not anonymous enough. It's getting better and at some point I think it will be as anonymous as other alternatives such as Monero, but nor right now. I cant wait for confidential translations.

to be honest..... That does not sound like the definition of "untraceable" to me.

See i post that jab about untraceable coins and the topic is dead.. no one wants to bite LOL
I am not surprised 

A huge industry has sprung up over anon coins and you all play dumb about it.
And what that means is there is going to be many more SR style News reports.
Criminals hiding behind Monero or what ever..

[enhu]

Legendary Russian arm dealer Viktor Bout was also arrested in Thailand. I guess this isn't a safe country to settle down if you're wanted by the FBI. He should have moved to Russia like Snowden, but I suppose he didn't like the weather up North.

Some stays in Cambodia now. If one can last eating tarantula for the rest of his stay, Cambodia is the place.
a wanted man from FBI sure can stay unnoticed and be like a monk lol

[spacehopper]

The feds have unsealed the charges against Variety Jones. He's being charged with narcotics conspiracy and money laundering, and could get between 10 years to life for the narcotics conspiracy. The maximum he could get for the money laundering is 20 years, but I don't know if the two sentences would run concurrently if he is found guilty on both charges.

A citizen of Canada, Clark, 54, is charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The narcotics conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. The money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence 20 years in prison.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/manhattan-u-s-attorney-unseals-charges-variety-jones-silk-road-marketplace/