Preliminary autopsy findings, according to the Spanish daily, confirmed previous assumptions by the Catalan authorities that the man had committed suicide. Seventy-five-year-old McAfee was found hanged in his cell on Wednesday night.
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Just hours before his death, a Spanish court ruled in favor of extraditing an American businessman to the United States. There he faced suspicions of tax cuts, deception of investors and fraud with cryptocurrencies. McAfee has been in a Catalan prison since last October, when he was detained at the airport.
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On Friday, his wife, Janice McAfee, said her husband had not previously told her of his intention to commit suicide. According to her, he did not have suicidal thoughts. In addition, according to the lawyers, Wednesday’s court decision to extradite was not final, but it was possible to appeal against it. McAfee sharply opposed the allegations, claiming that they were politically motivated.
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The reason, according to him, was that he criticized the American tax office of the IRS from the position of the candidate of the Libertarian Party for the President of the USA. He claimed in a Spanish court that he was facing a “hidden life sentence” in the United States due to his age. If found guilty on all counts, he could face up to 30 years in prison.
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The family wants a second autopsy
The entrepreneur’s family said last week that he would ask for a second autopsy. But he needs the permission of the court to do so. The widow accused the United States of causing the tragedy. “Because of their politically motivated accusations, my husband is now dead,” she said.
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McAfee was one of the first to make a huge fortune on the Internet. He founded the company bearing his name in 1989. He left it in 1995 because it turned out that he was exaggerating the importance of the Michelangelo virus in order to increase sales of antivirus programs. It has nothing to do with the current antivirus producer.
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An American businessman has lived in Spain since 2019.
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