Mark Karpeles, CEO of Mt Gox, arrested in Tokyo in October 2015 for embezzling $1 million amount of Japanese Yens to his personal bank account, was released from Jail on bail. Mt Gox collapsed in early 2014 after the revelation of embezzlement of hundreds of millions in customer bitcoin.
Mark Karpeles was kept in jail for over a year, and according to the terms of his release, he’s obliged to stay in Japan. According to local Japanese media outlet news24, Karpeles paid ¥10m (roughly $95k) prior to being released on bail. Moreover, reports showed Karpeles with prostitutes during his previous release.
According to media, Mt Gox employees were interviewed by police due to the loss of millions in Bitcoin. Although the investigation was expected to be finished, it seems that the case may have been reopened.
According to photos, it seems that Karpeles lost around 35 kgs of his weight during his stay in jail and seems to be more fit. What was rare in this case, was the time of Karpeles’ waiting for trial as in Japan the conviction rate is close to 100%. But as the case is unique, the preparation for process had to be longer as during ordinary ones.
Together, Karpeles was arrested even twice during 2015 in connection with the investigation into alleged embezzlement. At the time, claims surfaced in local media that police suspected Karpeles had embezzled ¥321m (roughly $3m) in Mt Gox funds.
It has been said that Japanese police have tried to persuade Karpeles to sign a statement saying that he was Satoshi Nakamoto. Albeit unconfirmed, this is a standard way for investigation in Japan when the suspected is asked to sign similar statements and that results in high conviction rate.
According to the News24 Japan video, we could see Karpeles much tinier as before. Although changed, most of the news agencies with any reporters foscued on cryptocurrencies, are paying close attention to Mark’s presence in Japan, so it’s not expected that he could disappear.
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