MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police stated on Friday they detained a Spaniard wished by the USA for allegedly conspiring with a convicted American cryptocurrency researcher to assist North Korea evade U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. Division of Justice accused final 12 months Alejandro Cao de Benos, who based a pro-Pyongyang affinity organisation, of recruiting researcher Virgil Griffith to illegally present cryptocurrency and blockchain know-how companies to North Korea.
Griffith was sentenced by a U.S. courtroom to 5 years and three months in jail in 2022 for conspiring to assist North Korea evade U.S. sanctions utilizing cryptocurrency.
In a put up on Friday afternoon on social media platform X, Cao de Benos described the U.S. allegations towards him as “false”.
Spanish nationwide police stated in an announcement they came upon Cao de Benos was in Barcelona underneath a false id and deliberate to catch a prepare to Madrid.
He was arrested on Thursday on the capital’s Atocha prepare station when he arrived.
On Friday, he appeared earlier than a Excessive Court docket choose who launched him with out circumstances pending the extradition course of, a judicial supply stated.
The supply added that the USA has to formalise the request and submit documentation.
“There is no extradition. The US accusation, besides being false, does not exist in Spain,” Caos de Benos wrote on X.
Attorneys for Cao de Benos, who may face 20 years in jail if convicted, couldn’t instantly be recognized.
