Monero Virtual Currency Founder Comes Out of Prison, Promises To Clear Name From Crypto Fraud

After spending more than two months in the solitary confinement in a US jail, the founder of virtual currency, Monero, is now released. According to news sources, Riccardo Spagni, spent 61 days in a jail awaiting his extradition request. However, since there was no extradition request received at the US Government, he couldn’t be confined any further. Otherwise, it would be in the negation of his right to liberty because he was held in confinement without any charges at all.

Spagni was visiting Mexico from the United States when he was arrested by law enforcement agencies of the US. However, he was not a criminal who had committed any crime in the US. In fact, Spagni was wanted by authorities in South Africa over allegations of crypto fraud. However, according to South African authorities he fled the country before anyone could arrest him. Since then he hasn’t returned to South Africa and continues to change his residence in different countries.

However, when Spagni was visiting US recently, South African authorities came to know that he was in the US. The authorities in South Africa then pushed its government to ask the US Government to arrest him in the States. It was rather a courtesy request which usually states seek mutual cooperation from other states for capturing a wanted criminal. The South African Government official requested the US Government and, based on that request, the law enforcement agencies arrested Spagni.

The terms of his arrest agreed to between the two states. The terms were that an extradition request will be made by the South African Government for handing over Spagni to South African authorities. Until such a request is made, Spagni was to be kept in jail. After a certain period, the South African Government was supposed to send an official written request to the US Government for Spangi’s extradition. In case no such request was received, and that the time period elapsed, then Spagni was to be released.

Lucky for Spagni, 61 days had gone past but there was no official request for his extradition was received in the US. Resultantly, the authorities in the US had no choice but to let him free. The Constitution of the States and in the international law strongly opposes curtailing of somebody’s liberty. It is also considered a crime to send someone jail without trial and without the charges. In the case of Spagni, he was not a criminal who has committed any sort of crime in the United States. Therefore, he couldn’t be tried for trial in the US. However, if an extradition request would have been made in time, then Spagni would have been handed over to South Africa for the trial.

Upon his release, Spagni told the media that his freedom was taken from him by the US authorities. He said that South African Government has been blaming him for committing crypto fraud. However, he is innocent and this time he would make sure that his name is cleared from the allegations, claimed Spagni.