Monero’s former supervisor has been released from US surveillance | Sept 21

Riccardo Spagni, the main administrator of the data protection coin Monero, reported that US officials had released him after more than a month in detention.

In a September 21 tweet, Spagni speaks he is working with his legal team to return to South Africa to clear up the allegations made against him. Authorities in the US arrested Spagni in August on fraud charges related to alleged crimes that occurred in South Africa between 2009 and 2011 at a company called Cape Cookies.

“I am actively working with my lawyers to get back to South Africa as soon as possible so that I can sort this out and resolve it once and for all,” said Spagni. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

The South African government filed for extradition against Spagni, accusing him of “using false information” to issue invoices that inflated the price of certain goods and services and to transfer money to bank accounts he controls. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years imprisonment.

Today is the first time Spagni has tweeted since July, even though someone – presumably his lawyer – has retweet. Shortly after his arrest, a statement was posted on his wife’s Twitter account. The legal department alleged the arrest was due to “his alleged no-show and nothing more.”

Related: (Monero) Liquidators are calling for an expanded investigation into the alleged South African bitcoin system

Spagni was the top maintainer of the Privacy Coin Monero (XMR) until December 2019 and has been in the crypto sector for over a decade. Many know him for his colorful social media posts and witty humor about crypto projects and industry figures.