Key Takeaways
- US authorities arrest former Monero developer following a request from South Africa
- Spagni allegedly diverted about $100,000 commercial funds to his bank account.
- Lawyers contest the legality of the arrest
The South African government claims that Spagni spearheaded the extortion of $100,000 from his former employer Cape Cookies CC. Spagni was suspected of having used fake accounts and fraudulent means to redirect some corporate payments to his bank accounts between 2009 to 2011.
South African authorities issued an arrest warrant in April after he failed to turn up for court proceedings. The released court documents claim that Spagni is under arrest without bail until he is extradited to South Africa. However, there hasn't been a date set for the court hearing.
Spagni has hired the services of lawyer Brian Klein, a counsel who had defended the initial co-owner of Bitcoin gambling site Satoshi Dice and CEO of ShapeShift, Eric Voorhees, as well as the co-founder of the one-time BitInstant Charlie Schrem. The lawyer has filed a bail motion that would qualify Spagni to be acquitted on bail before he finally is extradited to South Africa for his hearing.
The appeal contests the US government's attestation that Spagni's wrongdoing is deserving of as long as 20 years in jail. It is claimed that under South African law, Spagni's supposed violations could result in up to 5 years in jail if convicted. A consultation on Spagni's solicitation for bail will occur on August 5.
Riccardo Spagni is the previous lead engineer of the unknown digital money Monero. He left this work in 2020.
Do you think Spagni would be released on bail before being extradited to the US?
