2024-06-07
Roger Ver, early bitcoin investor, known in the crypto world as "Bitcoin Jesus," Ver has been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin and played a significant role in the development of Bitcoin Cash, has been released on bail in Spain but he is facing extradition to the United States
He has been granted bail by a Spanish
court amid his ongoing extradition battle with the United States.
He is wanted in the U.S. to stand trial
for charges of tax evasion and fraud.
He was released on May 17 after posting
€150,000 ($163,000) on the condition that he remains in Spain and surrenders
his passport. He is also required to appear in court every 2 days.
Ver, who is a well-known early adopter
of Bitcoin and an evangelist for Bitcoin Cash, allegedly evaded taxes amounting
to $48 million.
The U.S. authorities are seeking Ver’s
extradition to face charges of tax evasion and fraud, alleging that he failed
to report capital gains or pay taxes on his Bitcoin holdings, which he began
acquiring in 2011.
The Department of
Justice said Roger Ver was arrested in Spain on Apr 30, 2024.
The DOJ said that Ver
evaded nearly $50 million in taxes.
The indictment alleges
that Ver filing false report on capital gains from the sale of bitcoins in
2017.
In November 2017, he
sold tens of thousands of bitcoins on cryptocurrency exchanges for
approximately $240 million in cash.
Ver was required to pay
tax on the capital gains. Ver began acquiring bitcoins for himself and his
companies in 2011.
His 2 companies MemoryDealers.com Inc. and
Agilestar.com Inc., (two companies that sold computer and networking
equipment). and Ver allegedly owned roughly 131,000 bitcoins in 2014, with
the two companies owned 73,000 bitcoins.
Roger Ver was born in
the United States but he obtained a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2014.
Even though Ver is not a
U.S. citizen, but his U.S. companies are legally required to report to the IRS
and pay tax on certain distributions such as dividends.
In total, Ver is evaded
tax to the IRS worth at least $48 million.
The U.S. Department of
Justice is seeking to extradite Ver from Spain, where he was arrested, to stand
trial in the United States.
Despite renouncing his U.S. citizenship
in 2014, Ver is still required to file U.S. tax returns on gains from certain
assets because his companies registered in the U.S.
It’s important to note that the legal
process involving extradition can be complex and lengthy, and it will be
interesting to see how this case develops, especially considering Ver’s
prominence in the cryptocurrency community.
