An Australian man accused of helping run the online drug bazaar Silk Road has waived his extradition rights, paving the way for him to face charges in the US of conspiracy to launder money.

Former Queensland prison employee Peter Phillip Nash, 41, appeared in the Brisbane magistrates court on Wednesday.

Extradition can go ahead once the Commonwealth attorney general approves it.

Nash, who worked for a Brisbane prison’s forensic disability service, was arrested by Australian federal police in December.

US prosecutors allege he was the primary moderator for discussion forums on the Silk Road website.

The site was used by drug dealers to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs to more than 100,000 buyers worldwide.

Nash was allegedly employed by Silk Road’s San Francisco-based owner Ross William Ulbricht since January 2013.

Prosecutors say he went by the aliases “Batman73” and “Anonymousasshit”.

He and two other alleged Silk Road employees have been charged with one count of conspiracy to launder money, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in the US.

The trio is also charged with narcotics and computer hacking offences.

A Queensland government gazette published in October 2011 shows that Nash had been employed at the Wacol prison’s forensic disability service for intellectually disabled inmates.