His accounts were frozen by the FBI, so he has no accessible money right now. He's not asking the government for a handout, but for them to unfreeze the money he already owns.
To quote the tweet the story is based around, “Hey DOJ, we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers & living expenses,”
The FBI had all his bank accounts frozen so he has limited access to cash to pay for his legal defence.
Now they have started to delay the extradition hearing and case from moving forward. This is, unfortunately, a common tactic of Federal prosecutors - they throw the book at defendants and if they realize they may actually lose the case, they keep delaying any trial as long as possible so the accused does not have a chance to get their money back or clear their name. Defendants are left defending themselves against charges the government won't allow to be brought to trial. See the case of Gibson Guitars as another example. They had their factory raided and property seized 3 years ago and has still not had their day in court and have not had their property returned.
Well, to be fair, he's not asking the government to cover his costs, but to unfreeze assets so that he can pay them. It's a shrewd move. The US can skip an extradition hearing if he can pay his legal team.
To quote the tweet the story is based around, “Hey DOJ, we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers & living expenses,”