Karimi & Associates Law Firm presents according to Reuters:
The antivirus software entrepreneur, John McAfee, has been jailed in Spain and awaiting extradition to face tax fraud charges in the United States, told a court hearing in Madrid he was a victim of politically motivated accusations.
McAfee linked the charges filed by the Internal Revenue Service to his failed bid to run as a Libertarian Party candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a second such attempt.
McAfee was arrested at Barcelona airport when he was about to board a flight to Istanbul with a British passport. U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment in October against McAfee over charges that he evaded taxes and willfully failed to file returns.
“In late 2018, I announced I would run again and I also announced I would target the IRS and its corruption, and two months later the IRS filed charged against me,” he told the Spanish High Court during the first hearing of his extradition trial.
McAfee added that given his age, almost 76, he would spend the rest of his life in jail if he were to be convicted in the United States.
The Spanish prosecutor, dismissed the claim of political motivations, insisting the Libertarian Party rarely gains more than 1% of votes in U.S. elections.
“He is a tax rebel, nothing else. A millionaire who doesn’t want to pay taxes,” the prosecutor said. “He will benefit from all guarantees of due process.”
The Spanish prosecutor said McAfee could be extradited, but only to face charges related to his tax returns of 2016, 2017, and 2018.