The U.S. arrested Riccardo Spagni at the request of South Africa, which is seeking his extradition.
Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the Monero privacy coin, was arrested in Nashville Tenn., on a South African warrant seeking his extradition on fraud charges.
The arrest occurred on July 20, during a fueling stop by a private jet taking Spagni to Mexico, according to a court filing in which prosecutors asked that he be held without bail pending an extradition hearing.
South African authorities allege Spagni stole about $100,000 from Cape Cookies by falsifying invoices from a client, Ensync. He allegedly submitted false invoices that were actually paid to a bank account he controlled, according to U.S. prosecutors.
“As an employee of Cape Cookies, SPAGNI intercepted invoices from another company, Ensync, relating to information technology goods and services it had supplied Cape Cookies,” according to the filing. “SPAGNI knowingly used false information to fabricate similar invoices purporting to be from Ensync, relying on details including this company's Value Added Tax (VAT) number and bank account information… Cape Cookies paid each invoice by means of electronic transfer of funds into the bank account details reflected on the false invoice submitted by SPAGNI.”
He also submitted false invoices from three fictitious suppliers, according to the filing.
In a twitter thread posted by his wife on Aug. 2, Spagni called the arrest the result of a “misunderstanding with regards to the setting of court dates in an old matter, which I have continuously been trying to resolve since 2011.”
Old Charges
In a response to the filing, Spagni’s attorneys said that the arrest stemmed from a “fatally flawed” case that “South Africa has investigated, charged, dismissed, re-investigated, and re-charged,” over the course of a decade.
Spagni’s attorneys added that he had already appeared in several hearings for the case, and only missed a hearing that was more of a “status conference” than an actual trial date.
In addition, Spagni’s attorney’s said that Spagni’s fear of South Africa’s COVID-19 outbreak had led him to request video appearances, and that he thought his attorneys could attend the April 19, 2021 trial date he missed.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap. CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the success or authenticity of any project, we aim to act as a neutral informational resource for end-users.
