Former Mt Gox CEO released from prison, lost 70 pounds and is rumored to sign a statement with the police

According to Japanese media reports, the infamous Mark Karpeles (CEO of Mt Gox exchange) was released on bail yesterday. Video from News24 Japan shows that Kepler was released on bail of $100,000 after a year in captivity.

Mark Kepler requests bail, has lost 70 pounds

Last year, Mark Kepler was arrested by Japanese police for his role in the loss of 700,000 bitcoins from clients. After his company filed for bankruptcy, prosecutors accused Kepler of embezzling $3.4 million. So far, Kepler has been arrested twice for transferring funds privately.

Kepler has been in jail for more than a year since he was arrested in October 2015 in Tokyo for transferring $1 million into his personal bank account. Kepler was also said to have visited prostitutes before his arrest. His recent release rules prohibit him from leaving Japan.

Sources in Japan say the case is still under investigation and Kepler is awaiting trial. Police are also investigating a number of former Mt Gox employees, and many believed those investigations were closed, but may be reopened due to recent interviews.

Sources said that since the Japanese government has defined the classification of Bitcoin, the authorities may treat this case from scratch. The source also said that Kepler has lost 35 kilograms during his time in prison and his image is completely different from before.

Another rumor from the source is that some claim that the Japanese police tried to get Kepler to sign a statement admitting that he was Satoshi Nakamoto. Currently, these details are unconfirmed, but in Japan, it is common for the police to have people sign such statements.

Bitcoin.com will be following this story.