14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, US authorities charged Ross Ulbricht, the alleged mastermind of the online drug marketplace Silk Road, with conspiracy to commit computer hacking, narcotics conspiracy, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to Forbes, Ulbricht’s defense lawyer hinted that they might attack the way law enforcement authorities obtained the evidence against his client. The trial is scheduled to start on November 3.
Meanwhile, Ulbricht will be given the opportunity to review the evidence.
When it shut down Silk Road and arrested Ulbricht, the government also seized a total of 174,000 Bitcoins from the servers of the marketplace and from its alleged operator. Ulbricht wants the 29,000 Bitcoins taken from him by authorities to be returned.
However, the fact that the Bitcoins have been seized in the Silk Road investigation doesn’t make Ulbricht necessarily guilty of being the underground website’s operator. His lawyer has argued that it’s not illegal to have Bitcoins.