Early Bitcoin investor and advocate Roger Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” filed a lawsuit against Spain seeking to block his extradition to the United States, where he faces a tax evasion case.
The lawsuit, filed at the European Court of Human Rights, argues that the extradition violates Ver’s human rights, according to Bloomberg Law.
United States Department of Justice prosecutors charged Ver with tax fraud in April 2024, alleging that he owed $48 million. Spanish law enforcement authorities arrested Ver shortly after. He posted bail in May and was allowed to leave prison.
Cointelegraph reached out to Ver for comment but had not received a reply at time of publication. Ver has repeatedly maintained his innocence, saying that the case against him is politically motivated.
Ver, the creator of the BTC hard fork Bitcoin Cash (BCH), remains a controversial figure in the Bitcoin (BTC) community. Despite the polarization, industry executives and crypto veterans continue to call on the Department of Justice to drop the case.
Related: Roger Ver’s Trump pardon plea: ‘Lawfare’ victim or tax evader?
“Bitcoin Jesus” attempts to dismiss charges while racking up support from the crypto community
In December 2024, his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the tax charges, calling the exit tax levied by the US against any individual with a net worth of $2 million or more wishing to renounce their US citizenship, as “unconstitutional.” The defense attorneys wrote:
“The indictment against Roger Ver must be dismissed for two reasons. First, the charges in the indictment are unconstitutional. The ‘exit tax’ at issue violates both the Apportionment Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.”
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was pardoned by US President Donald Trump in January, called on the US government to end the prosecution of Ver.
“No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes. Let him pay the tax, if any, and be done with it,” Ulbricht wrote in February.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin echoed Ulbricht’s comments, calling the US exit tax “extreme” and the tax charges “politically motivated.”
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