MADRID: Spanish police said on Friday they had detained a Spaniard wanted by the United States for allegedly colluding with a convicted American cryptocurrency researcher to help North Korea evade U.S. sanctions. .
The U.S. Department of Justice said last year that Alejandro Cao de Venos, who founded a pro-North Korea affinity group, recruited researcher Virgil Griffith to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to North Korea. accused of doing so.
Mr. Griffiths was sentenced by a U.S. court in 2022 to five years and three months in prison for conspiring with North Korea to evade U.S. sanctions using cryptocurrencies.
Cao de Benos said in a post on social media platform X on Friday afternoon that the US allegations against him were “false”.
Spain’s National Police said in a statement that it was discovered that Cao de Benos had been in Barcelona under a false identity and was planning to board a train to Madrid.
He was arrested at the capital’s Atocha train station, where he arrived on Thursday.
On Friday, he appeared before a High Court judge and was released unconditionally pending extradition proceedings, judicial sources said.
The official added that the U.S. needs to formalize the request and provide documentation.
“There will be no extradition. The US charges are not only false, they do not exist in Spain,” Chaos de Benos wrote to X.
Lawyers for Cao de Benos, who could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, could not immediately identify him.
(issued February 21, 2024, 03:14 IST)