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Trump Pardons Creator of Major Darknet Marketplace

NewsBox
22 January 2025, 4:20
Trump Pardons Creator of Major Darknet Marketplace

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment, reports NewsBox

Donald Trump, the U.S. President, shared the news of the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, creator of the notorious Silk Road trading platform in the darknet. Trump wrote about this on his social network Truth Social, adding that he personally called Ulbricht's mother to inform her of the decision.

Ulbricht was arrested in 2013, and in 2015, a Manhattan court sentenced him to life in prison. He faced charges related to drug trafficking, involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering, document forgery, and cyberattacks. According to U.S. authorities, Silk Road was the largest platform for the sale of illegal goods, including drugs, with transactions exceeding $200 million.

During the trial, Ulbricht claimed that he initially created the site as an experiment and later handed over control to others. He pleaded with the judge for a more lenient sentence, but was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

 

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