Arrest of Roger Ver and initiation of investigations on Block: the Department of Justice of the United States does not stop.
On April 30, the US Department of Justice announced the arrest of the individual known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” Roger Ver, in Spain. Now, the United States is attempting to request his extradition for trial.
Ver, an early Bitcoin investor, has been charged with alleged mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns.
According to US authorities, the founder of Bitcoin Cash allegedly concealed his ownership of Bitcoin from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States and caused an alleged loss of $48 million for the agency.
After being a resident in Santa Clara, California, Ver renounced his US citizenship in 2014 following his acquisition of citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis.
For the DoJ, although Ver was not a US citizen at the time, he was still legally obligated to declare to the IRS and pay an “exit tax” on certain proceeds, such as dividends from MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc., which were US companies. According to the charges, Ver allegedly concealed from his accountant that he received and sold the bitcoins from MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. in that year. As a result, in Ver’s individual tax return for 2017, no income was reported, nor was any tax paid on the distribution of bitcoins from MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. to his benefit.
The statement asserts:
“The indictment further alleges that by June 2017, Ver’s two companies continued to own approximately 70,000 bitcoins. Around that time, Ver allegedly took possession of those bitcoins and in November 2017 sold tens of thousands of them on cryptocurrency exchanges for approximately $240 million.”
The following day, according to NBC News, U.S. federal prosecutors initiated investigations into Block‘s Square and Cash App units, fintech company, over alleged sanctions violations and regulatory non-compliance issues.
Block’s digital assets unit is under scrutiny for purported transaction processes linked to countries under sanctions and terrorist organizations.
Former employees reportedly provided the U.S. publication with around 100 pages of internal documents from their former company, including records of transactions between Block and countries subject to sanctions such as Russia, Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela.
In response to the start of the investigations, Block claimed to have voluntarily reported suspicious transactions over the years and reiterated the effectiveness of its compliance system:
“Block has a responsible and comprehensive compliance program, and we regularly adapt our practices to address emerging threats and an evolving sanctions regulatory environment. Our compliance program includes systems, tools, and processes for sanctions screening, as well as investigating and reporting on sanctions issues in accordance with our regulatory obligations.”
