Frank Schneider released pending OneCoin extradition decision
In what may wind up being a predictable judicial mistake, Frank Schneider has been released to home detention.
Schneider will be subject to 24/7 monitoring and home confinement, pending a decision on extradition to the US on January 19th.
For reasons unknown, the court didn’t set bail – meaning Schneider has nothing to lose should he flee.
Schneider (right) was arrested in France on an international arrest warrant back in April.
If extradited to the US and convicted on OneCoin related fraud charges, Schneider faces up to forty years in prison.
Upon release, Schneider is to be held at a house he owns in Joudreville. Joudreville is just 30 km from France’s Luxembourg border.
As quoted by the Reporter (paywall), Schneider’s attorney stated he was “extremely satisfied” with the release decision.
Schneider is believed to have been a key player in OneCoin’s operations. As a former spy master for Luxembourg, Schneider has political connections.
Through those connections he is believed to have first learned of the US’ investigation into OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova.
Schneider is believed to have leaked the investigation to Ignatova, prompting her disappearance in late 2017.
While Luxembourg has extradition treaties with both France and the US, it is believed Schneider’s political connections will make it difficult to secure extradition from Luxembourg itself.
Update 19th January 2022 – Frank Schneider’s appeal has been denied.
In be4 “Frank Schneider released, jumps in a car and is never seen or heard from again”.
I really hope that’s not a headline in a few weeks.
Seems more than a bit strange he was jailed all this time and then released pending the decision?
Also the US indictment has never released, if it exists at all, it is sealed. It is not in PACER. Yet it would have had to have been included in the extradition request.
Are French extradition hearings held in secret?
You’re not seeing that indictment until Schneider is on US soil :D.
Same thing happened with Greenwood.
Not always the case – John McAfee indictment was out there and quite public pending his attempted extradition. Might indicate there are other defendants not as yet named or a second batch of indictments based on Konstantin’s testimony to a Grand Jury.
But unclear why the French proceedings would be held in secret.
I can’t speak to non-MLM cases but sealed indictments are the norm when it comes to MLM.
They get unsealed when a suspect is arrested or extradited.
McAfee indictment was to get him to the US (tax evasion is a crime in both countries) but they’d have given him a deal.
They wanted him for a 600m$ ponzi he ‘accidentally’ fronted, called Arbitrage.co which was the for-runner to Moonberg.
He of-course el’epstined himself so that didn’t come to fruition, but not note Crypto Clover wasn’t charged by the SEC for his involvement in Bitconnect, he was one of the main touting architects for Arbitraging.co though, and Moonberg….
Thanks. I was referring more to the judicial process. I can speak for MLM cases as that’s what I’ve got experience with.
I wasn’t tracking McAfee’s case beyond what was reported. Sealing of indictments appears to be done on a case by case basis.
With respect to MLM cases they are always sealed until someone is arrested and/or extradited.
There are time limits, e.g. Ruja Ignatova’s unsealed indictment, but Frank Schneider’s case is still playing out.
In securities cases the indictments are usually sealed until they make the pinch of at least some of the defendants but continued sealing of Schneider’s supposed indictment seems odd – that information could be relevant to the defense of the other defendants, especially Scott?
Schneider’s indictment could be tied to Amer Abdulaziz and others who operated above Scott et al.
So, the decision on extradition of Frank Schneider is tomorrow January 19th, unless there’s another delay.
1:57am local time in France. We’ll know either way in ~10-15 hrs.
How does this play out?
Schneider is obviously much more smarter than Sebastian or Ruja. He might even have run the scam from Lux & London. He has a better idea of where she went to and knows all kinds of other things people don’t know but would like to. Throwing Ignatov under a train would not be too hard.
For a guy you wouldn’t remember if you saw him in a crowd, he really has taken on the mantra of some kind of villain in a Sherlock Holmes tale
Nancy Court issued a green light on the extradition of OneCoin perpetrator Frank Schneider!
But still not set in the stone: still possible overruling in cassation and the French government has to green light the extradition also.
lessentiel.lu/fr/luxembourg/story/avis-favorable-a-l-extradition-de-schneider-28613590
Three cheers for France!