Roger Ver released on $160K bail as US seeks extradition
Roger Ver, a.k.a. ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ was ordered to give up his passport and released on bail by Spanish authorities as the US seeks his extradition over tax fraud charges.
That’s according to documents seen by Bloomberg that reveal his €150,000 ($163,000) bail, which began on May 17, was granted on the condition that he stay in Spain.
Ver is also required to visit a Spanish court every two days. Prosecutors attempted to appeal his release but this was rejected.
The bitcoin investor was arrested in late April after the US accused him of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) out of more than $48 million. Just days before his arrest, Ver published his new book Hijacking Bitcoin, which is his own version of Bitcoin’s 2015-2017 blocksize wars.
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Ver, who owned companies MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc., started buying up bitcoin for himself and his firms, publicizing the purchases and earning his famous nickname.
The IRS alleges, that he ‘concealed and provided false information to his various advisors regarding the number and value of bitcoins he owned and controlled both personally and through his companies.’
Bloomberg reports that Ver’s lawyer, Jaime Campaner, claimed he “is not a fugitive at all, since he has been in touch with the US authorities through his Californian lawyers.”
“Therefore, he was aware of the investigation and, in my opinion, his arrest didn’t make sense,” he said.
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