U.S Authorities to Extradite Former Monero Creator by July 5
- Monero is marketed as a leading cryptocurrency project focused on private and censorship-resistant transactions.
The U.S Marshals Service will be extraditing a former developer of Monero, Ricardo Spagni to South Africa by July 5. The ex-developer is reportedly expected to surrender himself to the operatives on the date stipulated by the document. According to reports, Spagni will be battling fraud charges leveled against him after his extradition to South Africa.
Former Monero Developer in Trouble
As revealed in the court document, the South African authorities intend to immediately effect the arrest of the former Monero creator after his extradition to the country. Recall that Spagni was indicted on 378 counts, including fraud by the South African government.
According to findings, he allegedly defrauded his former employer for over $93,500 (R1,453,561). Spagni reportedly committed the offenses between October 2009 and June 2011.
His former South African employer, identified as Cape Cookies accused Spagni of abruptly inflating the amount of money due to the supplier. As revealed, the Spagni in conjunction with the former lead maintainer of Monero allegedly perpetuated the fraudulent act.
The duo planned to ensure that the funds were transferred to a bank account controlled by the former lead maintainer. Afterward, Spagni intended to transfer the actual amount due to the supplier and retain the remaining balance.
Findings revealed that Spagni reportedly pilfered about $100,000 with the fraudulent act. However, after an initial arrest and consequent appearance in court, the ex-monero creator reportedly absconded to the U.S, jumping the administrative bail issued to him.
In the wake of the development, the South African Court immediately ordered the arrest of the lead maintainer. Spagni, also known as “fluffypony” was in the end nabbed in Nashville Tenn by the U.S. law enforcement agency in August.
The ex-monero since his arrest last August has been facing extradition charges at the U.S court. As also revealed in the court documents, he now battles 126 counts, including contravention of the VAT act, fraud, forgery, and a host of other charges.
The Court reportedly rejected a request by Spagni’s lawyer to strike the documents from the record. Last month, the suspect applied, urging the court to accelerate his extradition processes to South Africa.
Till press time, the legal counsel to the ex-monero developer failed to comment on the extradition order by the U.S Court.
Side Notes
Monero is marketed as a leading cryptocurrency project focused on private and censorship-resistant transactions. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which use transparent blockchains, Monero uses various privacy-enhancing technologies to ensure the anonymity of its users.
This consequently makes all transactions done on Monero untraceable and confidential. As programmed, The sender, receiver, and amount of all transactions are hidden.
The project achieves this through the usage of Stealth Addresses, Ring Signatures, and RingCT technologies. These features help Monero to remain a true, fungible currency. As of press time, the coin is trading at $109 amid the prevailing crypto winter.
Rebecca is a Senior Staff Writer at BitcoinWisdom, working hard to bring you the latest breaking news in the cryptocurrency market. In the words of Elon Musk “Buy stock in several companies that make products & services that *you* believe in. Only sell if you think their products & services are trending worse. Don’t panic when the market does. This will serve you well in the long-term.”
