Decision Given On Appeal To Reopen John McAfee Investigation

A Spanish court has thrown out an appeal to reopen the investigation into the prison death of John McAfee.

McAfee was best known for his computer security software, which carries his name, whilst he was also involved in cryptocurrency.

He died in 2021, after being found to have hung himself in his prison cell, and an appeal to reinvestigate his death has been rejected by a Spanish court.

What happened to John McAfee?

McAfee was found hanging in his cell in an apparent suicide and, indeed, Spanish authorities determined that the 75-year-old had killed himself.

There was nothing to suggest that anything else had happened apart from McAfee committing suicide, the court in Barcelona reportedly said last week and the decision on the appeal was final.

This all followed on from McAfee arguing that US charges against him were politically motivated.

He could have faced a prison sentence of 30 years in the US if found guilty of the charges that were being brought against him.

Why was John McAfee in prison?

McAfee was arrested in Barcelona in October 2020.

He had tried to board a flight to Istanbul and was arrested to face US charges of evading more than $4 million in taxes.

Then in March 2021, both McAfee and his executive adviser Jimmy Gale Watson Jr were indicted in the US on fraud and money-laundering charges related to alleged cryptocurrency schemes.

McAfee never got as far as facing those charges in the US, however, after apparently committing suicide by hanging in his Spanish prison cell.

That could well be the last we hear of the case, as well, given the appeal to reinvestigate the situation was thrown out by a Spanish court late last week.