John McAfee Named CEO of Gaming Company in Shift to Cyber-Security

John McAfee has been named the chairman and chief executive officer of MGT Capital Investments, marking a return to public markets about five years after the eponymous anti-virus company he founded was sold to Intel for $7.68 billion (roughly Rs. 51,182 crores).

McAfee will oversee the small, mobile-gaming company's move into cyber-security. MGT is acquiring technology and assets from spyware maker D-Vasive Inc. and will change its name to John McAfee Global Technologies Inc., according to a statement Monday.

D-Vasive provides software that protects users from invasive applications that can activate a device's camera, microphone, Bluetooth or Internet connection. McAfee said he plans to use the D-Vasive technology as a foundation to build a cyber-security company.

"The enormous impact of cyber-security on our lives requires the scale and resources of a public company," McAfee said in the statement. "Our ability to continue to hire the best minds in the business will be vastly enhanced with a public platform."

McAfee, 70, announced a run late last year as a presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, campaigning on a privacy-focused platform that includes pushing for the government to create a cyber-security defense strategy. He is also a founder of Future Tense Secure Systems Inc., a security and privacy company that provides apps including D-Vasive's, according to its website. MGT Capital has a consulting agreement with the company, also known as Future Tense Central, according to the statement.

McAfee has previously tried to distance himself from the anti-virus software that bore his name, and has called it one of the "worst products" on the planet.

In 2012, while living in Belize, McAfee had run-ins with local police for alleged unlicensed drug manufacturing and weapons possession but was released without charge. Later, Belize police started a search for him as a person of interest in connection with the murder of his neighbor, Gregory Viant Faull. McAfee moved to Guatemala , where he was detained and released before eventually returning to the US McAfee said he was innocent.

MGT Capital, with a market value of more than $8 million, operates a number of mobile and online gaming sites and owns stakes in DraftDay.com, a daily fantasy sport-betting platform.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P.