WikiLeaks Suspends Release Of Secrets To Seek Cash

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Whistleblower site WikiLeaks said in a statement today that it would stop publishing documents in order to focus on making money.

Wikileaks argued that the financial blockade imposed by companies including Visa, MasterCard, Western Union, and PayPal left it with no choice but to stop publishing.

The statement said that to ensure survival, WikiLeaks must "aggressively fund-raise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents."

The U.S.-based companies blocked WikiLeaks' accounts shortly after it began publishing some 250,000 U.S. State Department cables last year.

WikiLeaks says the restrictions deprived it of nearly all its revenue.

compiled from agency reports