Paul Le Roux
| Paul Calder Le Roux | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 December 1972 Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) |
| Other names |
|
| Criminal charge | murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, organized crime, fraud |
| Spouse(s) |
2
|
| Children |
Between 3 and 5
|
|
Capture status
|
Arrested |
Paul Calder Le Roux (born December 24, 1972 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe) is a former programmer, former criminal cartel boss and informant to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He created E4M, an open-source free Windows disk encryption software program, in 1999, and is a suspected creator of the open-source TrueCrypt, which is based on E4M's code. Le Roux is currently in US custody for ordering the assassinations of six people.
Le Roux was born on December 24, 1972 at Lady Rodwell Maternity Home in Bulawayo and given up for adoption. His birth certificate gives his first name as “unknown” and makes no mention of his father. His biological mother’s identity has not been disclosed: one source claims she was a poor teenager, while another states that his maternal grandmother was married to a US senator.
Aged two months, he was adopted by a couple living in the asbestos-mining town of Mashava and given his future name, Paul Calder Le Roux. His parents never told him about his adoption, although various family members would learn of it over the years, and Le Roux himself would only find out in 2002. He had a younger sister and was well-loved by his adoptive parents and the extended family.
Following the political events of 1980, with Robert Mugabe assuming power and ending white minority rule, the family relocated to South Africa in 1984 for better schooling opportunities for Paul. They found a new home in the mining town of Krugersdorp, where Le Roux’s father started a company managing coal-mining operations, soon bringing wealth to the family.
Shortly after, Le Roux was given his first computer in exchange for washing his father’s car. As a teenager, he was described as tall, trim and handsome, though not very social and not interested in sport. However, he was obsessed with the video game Wing Commander, which he would play on his gaming console hooked up to the family TV.
Aged 15 or 16, Le Roux was arrested for selling pornography after police searched the family home. The family managed to keep the incident private. Following his arrest, Le Roux became even more reclusive. An excellent student, he would refuse to learn Afrikaans, mandatory in South African schools, calling it a “dead language” and eventually dropping out of school, aged 16. He enrolled in a local programming course, in which he excelled, completing the one-year course in eight weeks.
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