The Silk Road’s Libertas Is Free, To The Annoyance Of U.S. Authorities, While DoJ Mulls BTC Sell-Off

The Silk Road moderator Gary Davis, aka Libertas, is officially free on bail and awaiting an extradition hearing on February 13. Irish and U.S. authorities arrested Davis on December 20 in an international operation that also nabbed Silk Road moderators Andrew Jones, aka Inigo, and Peter Phillip Nash, aka SameSameButDifferent.

All of the accused were active in the Silk Road 2, a replacement to the popular illicit marketplace that the U.S. authorities shut down in October.

“Ross Ulbrict has abandoned his ‘I will always defy Law Enforcement’ and has plea bargained,” said a source close to the proceedings.

Originally believed to be “on the run”, Davis was actually freed on bail. Charged under section 74 of the Criminal Justice Act, Irish police arrested Davis and then freed him on bail later that night “much to the annoyance of FBI agents” there to interview and arrest him.

The FBI flew to Ireland that night for the express purpose of taking Davis into custody and interrogating him in Ireland, with regard to his position and functions “being a moderator on a website allowing transactions to facilitate the sale of drugs online.”

“Libertas is currently in compliance with the law of his country, as a free walking man, bailed. Thankfully, we all don’t all live in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave,’” said the source. However, Davis was found in possession of illicit substances which could result in a minimum sentence.

“The FBI’s next targets are senior vendors in the US and Europe,” said the source. “Again, some of these vendors are so big, that direct communications between Ross Ulbricht, moderators and senior vendors via PMs were frequent.”

“There is a plan. It’s in the working,” the source said.

Irish authorities did not respond to attempts for clarification.

In related news, the millions of dollars in bitcoin seized by the FBI from Ross Ulbricht and the first Silk Road, currently stored in a set of online wallets, appears to be on the move. A source in the U.S. Justice Department said that “authorities” have access to the Ulbricht’s bitcoin cache and may be selling it off for less volatile currencies in the next few weeks. Ulbright has given the U.S. government the private keys to the bitcoins.

“The reason for selling is that the Government has lost faith in the value of bitcoin and does not want to deal with the volatility of the currency,” the source said. The wallets are publicly visible here and here.