Roger Ver Appeals to European Court Against US Extradition

Roger Ver, the founder of Bitcoin.com, has filed a lawsuit against Spain in the European Court of Human Rights. He seeks to challenge the decision to extradite him to the United States, where he faces up to 109 years in prison for tax fraud, reports Bloomberg Law.

Spanish authorities detained the “Bitcoin Jesus” in 2024 at the request of the US Department of Justice. Ver was later released on bail of $163,000. However, he was prohibited from leaving the country, had his passport confiscated, and was required to report to court every two days. American prosecutors are seeking the extradition of the Bitcoin.com founder.

In 2014, Ver renounced his US citizenship and obtained a passport from the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. According to investigators, he then deliberately undervalued his bitcoins in declarations to avoid paying an exit tax of $48 million. In 2017, the Bitcoin.com creator allegedly embezzled 70,000 BTC (~$240 million) from the corporate accounts of his companies — MemoryDealers and Agilestar.

On December 3, 2024, the “Bitcoin Jesus” filed a motion to dismiss all eight charges. Ver claimed that the exit tax contradicts the US Constitution. He described the prosecutors’ arguments as “vague” and accused the American authorities of political persecution.

In his latest lawsuit, the Bitcoin.com founder accused Spanish authorities of violating his rights. According to Ver, law enforcement illegally interrogated his lawyers and ignored all evidence of his innocence.

Trump’s Pardon and Buterin’s Support

In January, Ver submitted a request for a pardon to Donald Trump. Previously, the US president fulfilled a campaign promise and pardoned Silk Road darknet marketplace founder Ross Ulbricht.

Later, Trump’s former wife Marla Maples advocated for the end of Ver’s criminal prosecution. She retweeted a video created by the entrepreneur’s support group Freerogernow titled “Who is Roger Ver?”, asking people to share it as “additional information to the call to end the prosecution.”

However, former Trump associate and Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that “Bitcoin Jesus” cannot be helped because he voluntarily renounced his US citizenship.

Roger Ver gave up his US citizenship. No pardon for Ver. Membership has its privileges.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2025

In March, Vitalik Buterin voiced support for Ver. The Ethereum co-founder noted that the case against the Bitcoin.com founder is politically motivated.

Back in, CTO of Casa Jameson Lopp suggested that “Bitcoin Jesus” is either refusing a pretrial settlement out of principle or due to a lack of funds.