Justice Department seizes $1 billion in bitcoin tied to illicit drugs and goods on the dark web

The Justice Department reportedly seized about $1 billion worth of bitcoin this week that was allegedly linked to a dark web market. 

The Justice Department seized thousands of bitcoins that the agency said were linked to the criminal marketplace Silk Road that was shut down by federal authorities in 2013, CNBC reported Thursday. 

“Silk Road was the most notorious online criminal marketplace of its day,” U.S. Attorney David Anderson of the Northern District of California said in a civil complaint Thursday, according to the outlet. “The successful prosecution of Silk Road’s founder in 2015 left open a billion-dollar question. Where did the money go?”

Silk Road, an online marketplace dedicated to the trafficking of illegal goods, was shut down by the FBI in 2013. Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison two years later for creating and operating Silk Road. 

The complaint filed Thursday said U.S. agencies tracked down illicit funds through a unit within the IRS that specializes in tracking virtual currency transactions. The unit was able to identify 54 new bitcoin transactions executed by the Silk Road which appear to be proceeds of some illegal activity, CNBC reported. 

The seizure is reportedly the largest of cryptocurrency in the agency’s history. 

A spokesperson for the Justice Department was not immediately available for comment.