Is Paul Le Roux Satoshi Nakamoto? The "Solotshi" ID Card Evidence

Paul Le Roux, former programmer turned cartel boss, became a Satoshi suspect in 2019 after his Wikipedia link appeared in the Kleiman lawsuit. His Congolese passport read “Paul Solotshi,” and associates said he discussed digital currency in 2007-2008. Arrested in 2012 after Satoshi’s 2011 disappearance, Paul Le Roux got 25 years for meth trafficking, Iran tech sales, and seven murders.

Who Is Paul Le Roux?

Paul Calder Le Roux was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on Christmas Eve 1972. His mother gave him up for adoption, and at two months old he was adopted by a couple from mining village Mashava. Paul Le Roux was reclusive young man who didn’t like sports or socializing but loved video games and computers. His father gave him his first computer when he was 12.

Le Roux dropped out of school and enrolled in a year-long programming course, finishing it in eight weeks. When he turned 18, Paul Le Roux moved from South Africa to the UK where he took a programming job. He later claimed to have worked for GCHQ, a UK intelligence agency similar to NSA, assisting “law enforcement in creating tools and disk encryption products.”

In 1994, Le Roux married his first wife Michelle, moving to the US then Perth, Australia, where he acquired Australian citizenship. During the second half of the 1990s, Paul Le Roux became increasingly concerned by mass government surveillance, developing his own encryption software called E4M (Encryption for the Masses), released as open-source in 1999 on a cryptography mailing list.

A fellow encryption programmer once described Paul Le Roux as “such a talented and gifted software developer… one of the brightest I have met in a 30-year career in this industry.” Given that he completed a one-year programming course in eight weeks, it’s fair to say he had the coding skills to have potentially developed Bitcoin.

E4M to Criminal Empire: The Transformation

Paul Le Roux released E4M software as open-source in 1999, with a manifesto stating: “Strong Encryption is the mechanism with which to combat these intrusions, preserve your rights, and guarantee your freedoms into the information age and beyond.” Notice the similarity between how Le Roux shared his E4M encryption software and the way Satoshi revealed Bitcoin—both announced on cryptography mailing lists, both had dedicated websites, and both personally answered user queries.

Realizing he couldn’t profit from open-source E4M, Paul Le Roux sought to monetize it by building a company customizing the software for clients. He worked on DriveCrypt with SecurStar but was fired after secretly installing DriveCrypt features into E4M. He relocated to Hong Kong then Rotterdam, struggling financially despite contract work developing security protocols for major banks including ABN AMRO and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

When he wasn’t contracting, Paul Le Roux developed a gaming engine for an online casino planned for Canada and Romania. Those who think Le Roux is Satoshi suggest he included some of this gambling software in Bitcoin’s code—the earliest available Bitcoin version included about 200 lines of GUI code for a poker game, which suggests Satoshi either had experience developing gambling code or intended to launch some Bitcoin casino.

After giving up on gambling software, Paul Le Roux launched several online prescription drug sites and call centers which became enormously lucrative over the following decade. Customers filled out medical questionnaires, selected drugs, and paid with credit cards. Prescriptions were sent to US doctors who wrote them, sending to US pharmacies for fulfillment. Le Roux made millions in profit from the start.

When the US government banned muscle relaxant Soma, cutting profits by a third, Paul Le Roux started smuggling pharmaceuticals from Mexico into the US, slipping out of legal gray area into criminal underworld. By 2010, he operated ten call centers employing over a thousand people worldwide.

The Criminal Empire and Murders

Paul Le Roux’s operations expanded into logging, precious metal mining, gold smuggling, land deals, drug shipments, arms trafficking, and money laundering across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Colombia, Brazil, and all over Africa. He laundered proceeds using gold bars and diamonds bought and stored in Hong Kong, later shipped to Manila.

From 2008 onwards, Paul Le Roux’s criminal empire became increasingly violent:

Paul Le Roux’s Confirmed Murders

Cousin Matthew Smith: Ordered house firebombed over financial dispute

Bruce Jones: Employee assassinated outside Manila gun range after working with police

Michael Lontoc: Assassinated in car at busy Manila junction by four gunmen

Customs Agent Noimie Edillor: Ordered killed for taking bribe but not following through

Real Estate Agent Catherine Lee: Murdered after her partner ran off with $1.1M of Le Roux’s money

Dave Smith: Le Roux personally fired bullets from .45 as Smith floated in water, already dead

Additional Murder: At least one more confirmed killing

The scope and severity of Paul Le Roux’s criminal conduct led a judge to say: “I have before me a man who has engaged in conduct in keeping with the villain in a James Bond movie.”

The “Solotshi” Connection and Digital Currency Interest

During the same period Satoshi Nakamoto started developing Bitcoin (end of 2007), Paul Le Roux spent about $12 million leasing farmland in Zimbabwe. Someone who worked for Paul Le Roux during this period told writer Evan Ratliff that Le Roux had been very interested in digital currencies in months leading up to Bitcoin’s release: “He had a group of Romanian programmers in an office. They were discussing online currency. This was in 2007-2008 before Bitcoin was released.”

Another source said Paul Le Roux once told them: “If you want to make money—real money—you need to do like the North Koreans who print it…or just make your own currency.”

Paul Le Roux started taking serious steps to cover tracks between 2007 and 2008, operating through shell companies worldwide and traveling using fake passports including a Congolese diplomatic passport. Curiously, Paul Le Roux’s name on the Congolese passport was “Paul Solotshi Calder Le Roux.” Many have pointed out the obvious similarity to Satoshi.

Captured by DEA and Cooperation

Paul Le Roux was approached by Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents posing as Colombian Cartel members wanting to set up methamphetamine business in Liberia. Le Roux was arrested the day after he arrived in Liberia in 2012. The following day, he signed a proffer agreement pleading guilty to two crimes in exchange for immunity against any other charges to which he might later admit guilt—including seven murders.

US authorities kept Paul Le Roux’s capture secret and turned him against criminal co-conspirators. Over an eighteen-month period, Le Roux led eleven of his former associates into sting operations leading to their arrests. Paul Le Roux’s case went to trial in December 2014, receiving a 25-year sentence.

Evidence Paul Le Roux Is (Or Isn’t) Satoshi

Evidence Supporting Paul Le Roux as Satoshi:

Timing: Arrested less than year after Satoshi disappeared in April 2011

Gambling Software Experience: Developed gaming engine; Bitcoin’s first version contained poker GUI code

Technical Skills: Exceptional programmer with GCHQ cryptography experience

E4M Launch Similarity: Released encryption software same way Satoshi launched Bitcoin (cryptography mailing list, dedicated website, answered user questions)

Bitcoin Mining Plans: Told judge he designed custom ASIC chip for Bitcoin mining using SHA knowledge from GCHQ

Evidence Against Paul Le Roux as Satoshi

No Hard Evidence: Evan Ratliff found no smoking gun after five years investigating

Language Dissimilar: Le Roux’s casual writing style contrasts with Bitcoin whitepaper’s academic tone

Coding Differences: Bitcoin developer Greg Maxwell found E4M and Bitcoin code followed dissimilar formatting styles

Businesses Didn’t Accept Bitcoin: Le Roux’s online pharmacies never accepted Bitcoin despite being perfect use case

The Iran Missile Connection

Paul Le Roux’s testimony revealed shocking admission: he confessed to selling technology to the government of Iran, specifically some sort of missile-guidance systems. This revelation explained the incredible secrecy surrounding him beyond his cooperation in sting operations. The information was classified, with law enforcement sources skeptical about whether it was truly helpful: “His pipe dream was that he was dealing directly with some general in the Iranian army.”

In 2020, Paul Le Roux told Manhattan Federal Judge he planned to start legitimate business hosting and selling Bitcoin miners after release, claiming he’d developed advanced ASIC miners that far outperformed existing models using SHA knowledge from GCHQ work.

FAQ

Is Paul Le Roux Satoshi Nakamoto?

Unconfirmed. Paul Le Roux became a Satoshi Nakamoto suspect in 2019 after his name appeared in unredacted footnote during Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit. His Congolese passport name “Paul Solotshi” and timing of his 2012 arrest (after Satoshi’s 2011 disappearance) fuel speculation, but no hard evidence exists.

What crimes did Paul Le Roux commit?

Paul Le Roux pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine into the US, selling technology to Iran, ordering or participating in seven murders, fraud, and bribery. He ran illegal online pharmacies, trafficked drugs from North Korea, smuggled weapons to Somalia, and laundered millions through Hong Kong using gold bars and diamonds.

When was Paul Le Roux arrested?

Paul Le Roux was arrested in Liberia in 2012 by DEA agents posing as Colombian cartel members. His arrest was kept secret as he cooperated with US authorities for 18 months, leading 11 former associates into sting operations.

What is Paul Le Roux’s sentence?

Paul Le Roux was sentenced to 25 years in prison in December 2014. He will not be charged for the seven murders he admitted to after signing his proffer agreement, though the judge factored them into sentencing. He is expected to be deported to the Philippines after completing his US sentence.

What is E4M and how does it relate to Bitcoin?

E4M (Encryption for the Masses) is open-source encryption software Paul Le Roux developed and released in 1999. Its release method mirrored how Satoshi launched Bitcoin—announced on cryptography mailing list, dedicated website, and personally answering user questions. TrueCrypt, based on E4M, was released in 2004 by anonymous developers suspected to include Le Roux.

Where is Paul Le Roux now?

Paul Le Roux is serving 25-year sentence in US federal prison. His exact location remains secret. Former associates fear he has millions hidden worldwide and could reconstitute his criminal empire upon release. One source claimed: “He loved what he did and wouldn’t give it up.”