A French crypto dealer, Thomas Clausi, is at the moment imprisoned in Morocco the place he was convicted of the crime of shopping for a Ferrari with bitcoin. Clausi’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment got here after a lady, who bought him a Ferrari for $440,000 in April 2021, filed a grievance in opposition to the crypto dealer when the value of the crypto asset had dropped to simply over $30,000.
Crypto Dealer ordered to pay nice of $3.7 million
A 21-year-old Frenchman and crypto dealer, Thomas Clausi, is at the moment serving a jail sentence in Morocco for allegedly shopping for a $400,000 supercar with bitcoin, a report mentioned. Along with giving Clausi an 18-month jail sentence, the Moroccan court docket additionally ordered the crypto dealer to pay a nice of over $3.7 million (€3.4 million).
Based on a report by Gararin Information, bother started for the Frenchman when a lady who bought him a Ferrari for nearly $440,000 filed a fraud case in opposition to him. Though Clausi is claimed to have paid the complete quantity in April 2021 with BTC, the unnamed girl filed her grievance solely in July when the value had dropped. As proven by the crypto-asset’s information, throughout this era the worth of 1 BTC fell from greater than $60,000 seen in mid-April to simply over $31,500 by July 17, 2021.
Following the submitting of the grievance, the authorities in Morocco – the place crypto buying and selling is prohibited – are mentioned to have opened an investigation. In October of that yr, Clausi was convicted of the crimes of fraud and “fee with overseas forex on Moroccan territory.” Though the value of BTC rose to over $40,000 in December, the Moroccan authorities had been unmoved and nonetheless had the Frenchman thrown in jail.
Though Clausi solely has a couple of months left earlier than he finishes his sentence, his attorneys are nonetheless making an attempt to safe an early launch. For instance, in a listening to searching for to have his sentence decreased, the attorneys informed the court docket that Clausi had beforehand purchased costly Swiss watches utilizing crypto and that the value of BTC had risen accordingly afterwards.
However as an alternative of decreasing the sentence, the Moroccan court docket nonetheless ordered Clausi to repay the vendor the equal of $4,200 in native forex.
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