Roger Ver, a prominent early investor in Bitcoin (BTC), has been released on bail by a Spanish court as he awaits possible extradition to the United States.
As reported by Bloomberg on June 5, Ver was able to leave Spanish jail after posting approximately $163,000 in bail on May 17. The conditions of his release stipulate that he must stay in Spain, surrender his passport, and appear in court every two days.
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against Ver on April 30, accusing him of mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. Allegedly, he defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of around $48 million by not reporting capital gains from his Bitcoin and other asset sales.
Despite being born in California, Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014 and currently holds citizenship with Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. U.S. officials are seeking to extradite him from Spain to face trial in the United States.
In addition to his involvement with Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ver was recently involved in a scandal with CoinFlex in 2022, where the platform claimed he owed them $47 million in USD Coin (USDC). He also served 10 months in federal prison in the U.S. in 2002 and 2003 for selling explosives on eBay.
Ver shared his experience of incarceration in a July 2018 video, expressing the challenges of being separated from loved ones. If convicted, he could potentially face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for mail fraud, up to five years for tax evasion, and up to three years for filing false tax returns, according to the Justice Department.
Since his arrest, Ver has not been active on social media.