Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, facing charges of money laundering, was released on a $1 million bond.
Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The plea was entered during a court hearing in Manhattan on Monday.
According to reports from CoinDesk, Rodriguez, 35, was arrested at his residence in Harmony, Pennsylvania, on April 24th, at approximately 6 a.m. Following his arrest, a Pennsylvania judge released him on a $25,000 bond, with the condition that he appears before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York (SDNY). On Monday, Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses agreed to release Rodriguez on a $1 million bond under conditions agreed upon by federal prosecutors and Rodriguez’s legal team, led by Sean Buckley and Michael Keilty from the law firm Kobre Kim.
As per the agreement, Rodriguez's bond will be secured by real estate in Pennsylvania and the signatures of his wife and another family member. While awaiting trial, he is mandated to remain under house arrest in Pennsylvania and will be monitored via location tracking technology. His movements are restricted, with allowances made only for travel to and from court proceedings.
The charges against Rodriguez and his co-founder William Lonergan Hill, who was arrested in Portugal, stem from allegations that their privacy-focused bitcoin wallet and mixing service, Samourai Wallet, facilitated over $100 million in money laundering from illegal dark web markets. The total "unlawful transactions" are estimated to be around $2 billion. The Department of Justice alleges that the pair encouraged users to launder criminal proceeds and targeted "restricted markets" as a demographic.
Rodriguez is scheduled for his next court appearance on May 14 at 2 p.m. in front of District Judge Richard Berman, who previously presided over the trial of Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg earlier this year.
