John McAfee, the anti-virus software pioneer, who arrived in Miami on Wednesday after a month-long international run from Belize authorities, said he is willing to talk to police but will not return to the country.
In an interview on Friday morning, McAfee told CNBC reporter Robert Frank that he had "nothing to do with the murder of Gregory Faull," but that he was open to talking to Belize police.
"I would certainly go to answer those charges, but there will be no charges," the software mogul said when asked what he would do if he was charged with Faull's murder. "I will certainly answer any any questions and I've offered to answer them in a neutral country… but I will no go back to Belize to do it."
Belize police say the tech millionaire is wanted for questioning over the alleged murder of Faull, who had been a neighbor of his in San Pedro, Belize. McAfee had allegedly been "quarreling with" Faull, who was found dead in his home in November. The 52-year-old American expatriate had reportedly been shot in the back of the head.
Following Faull's death, McAfee vanished from his home and has since been sought after by Belize officials. McAfee -- who has not been implicated as a suspect, but is believed to be "linked" to his neighbor's death -- has been on the lam since Nov. 11.
But in the CNBC interview Friday, McAfee alleged that he's been in hiding from the Belize authorities for the last two and a half months.
As Reuters notes, McAfee, described as an "eccentric tech pioneer," has charged that the authorities have tortured and "persecuted him because he refused to pay $2 million in bribes." He also alleges that he was falsely accused of running a methamphetamine lab and "an antibiotics lab without a license"; he also claims soldiers stormed his property and poisoned a number of his dogs.
Belize's prime minister, Dean Barrow, has denied these allegations, calling McAfee "paranoid and bonkers."
When asked whether "this whole thing" seems "crazy" to him, McAfee, who earlier admitted that he had played the "crazy card" and had told a number of lies to the press and others to elude capture, said:
It certainly feels crazy to me… I do love hoaxes and I love elaborate hoaxes, but not ones that involve my detention in Guatemalan jails, shooting of my dogs, the harm to people. No sir, this is is not a hoax. If it is, it's the worst hoax in the world.
McAfee -- who adopted a variety of elaborate disguises and took to hiding in "attics" and "the jungle" during his days on the lam -- says he is no longer on the run. He arrived in the United States on Wednesday after being deported from Guatemala. He had reportedly snuck into the Central American country illegally from Belize.
Belize police say "their country's extradition treaty with the United States extends only to suspected criminals, a designation that does not apply to McAfee," Reuters reports.
It is as yet unclear whether McAfee will be questioned or detained in the U.S.