Fugitive millionaire antivirus guru John McAfee launches US presidential run … from yacht in Cuba | South China Morning Post - Katell Abivan, Agence France-Presse:
July 7, 2019 - "US millionaire John McAfee has added a new chapter to his tumultuous life story. From a yacht in Havana harbour, he says he is running for the US presidency. This will not, he deadpans, be 'an ordinary campaign.' 'I am wanted as a criminal by the government for which I am running for president,' McAfee says as he sits on his white yacht surrounded by an entourage of seven campaign aides and two enormous dogs....
"McAfee’s immediate goal is to win the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, which supports free trade and a sharply reduced federal government. He tried but failed in 2016, beaten for the party’s nomination by Gary Johnson, who went on to win just over three per cent of the vote in the election.
"But McAfee has an unusual admission for a presidential candidate: 'I don’t want to be president, I really do not, nor could I be,' he says, puffing on a cigar.... 'I cannot be president. However, I do have a large following and I will influence this next election.”
"Since making a fortune with his antivirus software in the 1980s, the 73-year-old has become a self-styled cryptocurrency guru, claiming to make US$2,000 a day. He has nearly 1 million followers on Twitter....
"McAfee began his career as a Nasa engineer before working for several software companies, where he learned of the existence of a computer virus – and began figuring out how to destroy it. Thus McAfee Associates was born in 1987, quickly becoming a giant in the antivirus industry. He sold the company to Intel in 2010 and is now worth an estimated US$100 million.
"But [after] moving to Belize in Central America and living a sometimes chaotic life, he suddenly became tabloid grist when his neighbour was mysteriously murdered in 2012, a crime that has not been solved. When police found him living with a 17-year-old girl and discovered a large arsenal of weapons in his home, McAfee disappeared on a month-long flight that drew breathless media coverage.
"In 2015, McAfee was arrested in the United States for driving under the influence. He again disappeared from view until January 2019, when he fled the country. 'I went first to the Bahamas because I was charged with income tax evasion,' he said, adding that when the FBI went there looking for him he fled to Cuba. 'I have not paid taxes for eight years. I will not pay taxes again – it is unconstitutional and illegal.'
"McAfee has offered to help Cuba launch a cryptocurrency of its own. The government said earlier it was studying how the virtual money might be used to get around US economic sanctions....
"US tax authorities, asked about his possible legal jeopardy, would not confirm whether he faces any charges. No extradition request has been filed with Cuban authorities. The mere fact of having sailed his yacht to Cuba, however, violates new US regulations that ban American citizens from travelling to the island on cruise ships or private boats."
Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3017562/fugitive-millionaire-antivirus-guru-john-mcafee
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July 7, 2019 - "US millionaire John McAfee has added a new chapter to his tumultuous life story. From a yacht in Havana harbour, he says he is running for the US presidency. This will not, he deadpans, be 'an ordinary campaign.' 'I am wanted as a criminal by the government for which I am running for president,' McAfee says as he sits on his white yacht surrounded by an entourage of seven campaign aides and two enormous dogs....
"McAfee’s immediate goal is to win the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, which supports free trade and a sharply reduced federal government. He tried but failed in 2016, beaten for the party’s nomination by Gary Johnson, who went on to win just over three per cent of the vote in the election.
"But McAfee has an unusual admission for a presidential candidate: 'I don’t want to be president, I really do not, nor could I be,' he says, puffing on a cigar.... 'I cannot be president. However, I do have a large following and I will influence this next election.”
"Since making a fortune with his antivirus software in the 1980s, the 73-year-old has become a self-styled cryptocurrency guru, claiming to make US$2,000 a day. He has nearly 1 million followers on Twitter....
"McAfee began his career as a Nasa engineer before working for several software companies, where he learned of the existence of a computer virus – and began figuring out how to destroy it. Thus McAfee Associates was born in 1987, quickly becoming a giant in the antivirus industry. He sold the company to Intel in 2010 and is now worth an estimated US$100 million.
"But [after] moving to Belize in Central America and living a sometimes chaotic life, he suddenly became tabloid grist when his neighbour was mysteriously murdered in 2012, a crime that has not been solved. When police found him living with a 17-year-old girl and discovered a large arsenal of weapons in his home, McAfee disappeared on a month-long flight that drew breathless media coverage.
"In 2015, McAfee was arrested in the United States for driving under the influence. He again disappeared from view until January 2019, when he fled the country. 'I went first to the Bahamas because I was charged with income tax evasion,' he said, adding that when the FBI went there looking for him he fled to Cuba. 'I have not paid taxes for eight years. I will not pay taxes again – it is unconstitutional and illegal.'
"McAfee has offered to help Cuba launch a cryptocurrency of its own. The government said earlier it was studying how the virtual money might be used to get around US economic sanctions....
"US tax authorities, asked about his possible legal jeopardy, would not confirm whether he faces any charges. No extradition request has been filed with Cuban authorities. The mere fact of having sailed his yacht to Cuba, however, violates new US regulations that ban American citizens from travelling to the island on cruise ships or private boats."
Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3017562/fugitive-millionaire-antivirus-guru-john-mcafee
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