British-American computer programmer, businessman, and perennial political candidate, John McAfee has been found dead in a Spanish prison.
Gatekeepers News reports that McAfee was discovered lifeless on Wednesday, in his cell at a jail near Barcelona.
His death was suspected to have been a suicide, just as it occurred hours after the country’s highest court approved his extradition to the United States, where he was wanted on tax-related criminal charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
In a statement, the Catalan justice department said that prison officers and medics had tried to save the life of a 75-year-old man but were unsuccessful.
According to the department, “Judicial staff have been dispatched to the prison and are investigating the causes of death,” the statement said, adding: “Everything points to death by suicide.”
McAfee was detained on an international arrest warrant issued by the American authorities last October at Barcelona’s El Prat airport as he prepared to board a flight to Turkey with a British passport.
Since then, he had been held in custody at Brians 2 Prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires.
The judge of the National Court José de la Mata ordered his imprisonment and his extradition to the United States was already scheduled, El Pais reports.
McAfee was charged in the US state of Tennessee with evading taxes after allegedly failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consultancy work.
McAfee, the creator of the McAfee virus software, was arrested last October at Barcelona’s international airport as he was about to board a flight to Istanbul.
The arrest of the entrepreneur came a day after authorities had made public a US indictment stemming from alleged tax offenses.
Tennessee prosecutors had charged McAfee with evading taxes after failing to report income made from promoting cryptocurrencies while he did consultancy work, as well as income from speaking engagements and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary.
On Wednesday, Spain’s highest court had approved McAfee’s extradition to the United States, although the decision could be appealed and the extradition would have had to be approved by the Spanish cabinet.
“The court agrees to grant the extradition of John David McAfee as requested by the American judicial authorities for the crimes referred to in the tax offense indictments for years 2016 to 2018,” read the 16-page ruling.
