The mastermind of an $8 billion money-laundering operation that prosecutors billed as the biggest ever got hung out to dry.

Arthur Budovsky, 42, co-founder and owner of a digital-currency business described as “the bank for the criminal underworld,” was sentenced to the maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and three years probation on Friday.

In addition to doing hard time, Budovsky was ordered to forfeit $122 million and pay a $500,000 fine for conspiring to help criminals — drug traffickers, identity thieves and child pornographers — move dirty money around the globe.

Assistant US Attorney Christian Everdell pushed for the maximum 20-year sentence given Budovsky’s role in an “enterprise of unprecedented size and scope.”

Budovsky, the co-founder of Liberty Reserve, faced life behind bars before pleading guilty just days before his trial. Prosecutors agreed to cap the punishment at 20 years.

In a ham-fisted effort, Budovsky’s lawyer, John Kaley, tried to knock it down to less than 15 years.

Kaley touched on both Budovsky’s involvement in a previous money-laundering scam and his connection to child pornography — a subject that even prosecutors steered clear of during the sentencing.

“All we have is that he was involved in this, in GoldAge, and he has some child pornography stuff,” Kaley, told the judge. “But we’ve looked into his soul.”

Kaley also tried to explain away Budovsky’s apparent lack of remorse.

“A person doesn’t have to get down on the ground and prostrate himself,” he said.

‘I don’t find any genuine remorse expressed to me… The defendant argues he’s a low risk to be a recidivist. I don’t find that true at all.’ - Judge Denise Cote

Judge Denise Cote wasn’t buying it.

“I don’t find any genuine remorse expressed to me,” she said.

“He was the master of the operation,” she continued. “The defendant argues he’s a low risk to be a recidivist. I don’t find that true at all.”

When Judge Cote asked Budovsky if he’d like to say anything on his behalf, Budovsky said, “No, your honor.”

He didn’t display any emotion when the judge read his sentence.

Ten friends and family members showed up, including his mother, who broke out in tears when the verdict was read.

Budovsky founded Liberty Reserve in 2006 with Vladimir Kats, who faces 75 years in prison for money laundering and other charges. He will be sentenced on May 13.

The Costa Rica-based company used Bitcoin-like digital currencies in an attempt to evade law enforcement, and processed 78 million transactions — amounting to $8 billion — for cyber criminals, according to prosecutors.