Bitcoin millionaire: US entrepreneur in drug website case wants his $30m in virtual currency back from police

Prosecutors say they seized 144,336 bitcoins from Ulbricht's computers (George Frey)

An Internet entrepreneur accused of being behind an online marketplace for illegal drugs has asked the US government to return more than $30 million (£18 million) in bitcoin seized from his computers.

Ross Ulbricht was arrested in October following a crackdown on the black market website Silk Road.

Federal prosecutors in New York say Ulbricht went by the online handle the Dread Pirate Roberts and turned the underground site into a place where anonymous users could buy or sell contraband and illegal services.

In court filings, prosecutors say they seized 144,336 bitcoins from Ulbricht's computers.

Though subject to fluctuations in value, the virtual currency is exceedingly valuable, but lightly regulated.

Ulbricht says in a legal filing that the currency should be returned because it isn't subject to civil forfeiture rules.

AP