Disgraced former Mt Gox Chief Executive Officer Mark Karpeles has been released on bail in Japan following his detention in July last year on multiple charges relating to the collapse of the bitcoin exchange in 2014.

According to News24 (in Japanese) Karpeles paid 10 million yen ($94,500) to secure his release, and as part of his bail conditions, is prohibited from leaving the country.

Of particular note, the video from News24 shows that Karpeles has lost a serious amount of weight while behind bars.

Karpeles was arrested twice in 2015, the first time on a charge of fraudulently producing and using private electromagnetic records on the basis of evidence that indicated that Karpeles fraudulently manipulated the cryptocurrency system and inflated the Bitcoin balance in bogus accounts that belonged to Mt. Gox.

The second arrest was related to an embezzlement charge, with police alleging that he misappropriated $2.6 million of deposits from the trading accounts of Mt Gox customers; subsequent to that arrest it was revealed that at least some of this money had been spent on “an unspecified sum on prostitutes” that involved “several women whom he met at venues that offer sexual services.”

Who paid the bail?

While Karpeles is free to now roam Japan until such time he is required to appear before a court, the unanswered question arises is, who paid the bail fee?

In a Reddit thread regarding the arrest, one user makes the point that while most of the thread involves weight loss jokes, they ask: “How about where the f**king bail money came from, and more importantly, WHO paid the bail?” to which another user replies “His wife. Remember he sent her away to Canada. The fuck Japanese women does in Canada? No language, no connections different new world. She has the money. He gave it. We need to look closely how she lives up there. Chase that rabbit.”

There is currently no way to confirm this, but given the missing millions and the fact Karpeles’ Japanese wife fled the country, something that in itself needs funds to finance and someone has magically put nearly $100,000 on the table to get him out of jail.

It’s not clear from reports when Karpeles will next be in court, but in the meantime he could probably pursue a new career as a weight loss spokesman.

Image credit: News24.