Selling bitcoins (or any other currency or asset) to someone for money that they have obtained illegally is money laundering. Obviously, all transactions canno

Selling bitcoins (or any other currency or asset) to someone for money that they have obtained illegally is money laundering. Obviously, all transactions cannot be held to the same standards of diligence. e.g. How can a bureau de change at an airport be expected to know that it is accepting a £5 note from a pickpocket? However some transactions are expected to attract a degree of diligence, either based on magnitude or some other circumstance. It is clear that they appear to have been attempting to sell a large sum of bitcoins to people who are at least on the grey side of the law. In such a situation, one might expect that a quantity of the money they receive from the transaction might be dirty. Whether the defendants are guilty of (attempted) money laundering is for a jury to decide.