Ross Ulbricht — who was arrested in October for allegedly masterminding the mysterious “deep Web” site — recently filed legal papers in Manhattan federal court admitting he “has an interest as owner” of the more than 173,000 bitcoins the government seized through forfeiture from Silk Road.

Valued at $33.6 million, these bitcoins are assets the government claims were used to facilitate money laundering in support of a host of crimes, including six failed murder-for-hire plots and the sale of cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs over the Internet.

Ulbricht — who allegedly used the workplace alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a reference to a character in the 1987 cult film “The Princess Bride” — said in a notarized Dec. 11 statement that he believes the virtual currency should be returned to him because bitcoins are “not subject to seizure” by federal law.