(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY ADAM FALK & JJ BAILEY
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Julian Assange has an announcement. But this is no leak. Whistle-blowing Wikileaks is in financial trouble. ZDNet has a statement from the company.

“In order to ensure our future survival, Wikileaks is now forced to temporarily suspend its publishing operations and aggressively fund-raise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents."

Fox News has more on the blockade Mr. Wikileaks talked about at a press conference Monday.

“Assange says the blockade of donations to Wikileaks by Paypal and the other major credit card companies has cost the website tens of millions of dollars. That was the goal.”

To be more specific, The Guardian reports the banking blockade has taken down 95% of Wikileaks revenues. Donations went from €100,000 a month in 2010 to just €6,000 to €7,000 per month this year. But it’s not just about revenues.

“[Assange] added that the blockade posed an existential threat to WikiLeaks and if it was not lifted by the new year the organisation would be ‘simply not able to continue’.”

And PCMag reports Wikileaks is not only fundraising, it’s taking countries to court.

“WikiLeaks said it has begun to pursue legal action against the blockade in the U.S., Iceland, Denmark, the U.K., Belgium, and Australia.”

Currently, Assange is in the UK, waiting for a ruling on his appeal of extradition charges to Sweden. The BBC says, financial trouble might be nothing compared to what’s down the road for him.

“He fears extradition to Sweden may lead to him being sent to the United States to face separate charges relating to Wikileaks, for which he could face the death penalty.”

Mashable reportsWkiLeaks has also invited supporters to donate money, either through a direct bank transfer via two banks that still work with WikiLeaks – Germany’s Commerzbank and Iceland’s Landsbankinn – or by using the anonymous digital currency BitCoin.