Vitalik Buterin joins calls to free crypto advocate Roger Ver

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has joined calls to free early crypto investor and entrepreneur Roger Ver, who is locked in a legal battle with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) over alleged tax evasion and faces extradition to the US.

Buterin reposted Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s message calling for the prosecution against Ver to end and characterized the case as “absurd” and “politically motivated.” Buterin continued:

“The US tax-by-citizenship and associated exit tax regime are extreme. The former is shared by almost no other countries in the world, and the latter is on the high end of what countries do, e.g., the UK only charges capital gains if you return within 5 years.”

“If the IRS did intimidate Roger’s lawyers to get privileged information, that is a bad faith move,” The Ethereum co-founder added.

Ver’s case comes amid growing calls from US lawmakers and residents for comprehensive tax reform, which includes ending the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Related: Ross Ulbricht calls for ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver to be freed next

The DOJ case against Roger Ver

The US Department of Justice announced tax evasion charges against Ver on April 30, 2024, and the entrepreneur was subsequently arrested in Spain, where he was imprisoned for several weeks.

Ver posted $163,000 of bail on May 17, 2024, allowing him to leave prison on the conditions that he remain in Spain, surrender his passport, and check in with court officials every two days.

In a legal filing from December 3, 2024, the embattled entrepreneur’s attorneys argued the case was unconstitutional and moved to dismiss the charges.

The attorneys characterized the exit tax law for US citizens with more than $2 million in investable assets as vague, adding that the exit tax violates the Apportionment Clause and the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution.

Crypto investors called out the DOJ for targeting Ver after he left, claiming that the case was part of the Biden administration’s broader anti-crypto stance.

Roger Ver maintains that the US government maliciously prosecuted him over crypto advocacy and not tax-related matters.

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