According to Bloomberg, a crypto investor, popularly known as 'Bitcoin Jesus', has been released on bail in Spain. He is facing extradition to the United States on charges of tax fraud. The US authorities are seeking his extradition to answer charges related to tax fraud. The Justice Department claims that he failed to report capital gains or pay taxes on his Bitcoin holdings, which he began acquiring in 2011.
He allegedly sold Bitcoins worth about €240 million in 2017 but did not disclose the sale to his accountant. This omission allegedly led to a failure to pay at least $48 million in taxes, as per the documents. Despite renouncing his US citizenship and becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2014, he was still obligated to file US tax returns on gains from certain assets.
Known as 'Bitcoin Jesus', he earned this nickname for being an early advocate for the cryptocurrency. However, he left the Bitcoin community after several years due to a disagreement over changes to the digital currency's network functionality. His lawyer, Jaime Campaner, stated that his client is not a fugitive as he has been in contact with the US authorities through his Californian lawyers. Campaner further added that his client was aware of the investigation, and in his opinion, the arrest did not make sense.