Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of crypto alternate FTX, will legally forgo his extradition to the US, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources with information of the state of affairs. This comes solely days after he was remanded to a Bahamian jail for a listening to.
Bankman-Fried has been detained within the Bahamas since his arrest on Monday, when he was denied bail in reference to a number of U.S. prison allegations.
Earlier than his detention, in a number of interviews following FTX’s downfall final month, Bankman-Fried denied orchestrating a multi-year fraud scheme and abusing the legislation.
Extradition will pave the way in which for a protracted authorized showdown within the U.S. On Tuesday, the Southern District of New York of the Justice Division unsealed a 13-page prison indictment.
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Picture: Reuters
Sam Bankman-Fried To Say Sure To U.S. Extradition?
The indictment alleges that Bankman-Fried used billions of {dollars} in stolen buyer deposits to pay expenditures and money owed, in addition to to make investments for his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Analysis.
It was unclear why Sam Bankman-Fried modified his thoughts and determined to not problem his extradition. His attorneys didn’t reply to remark requests. A consultant from the U.S. lawyer’s workplace declined to remark. He continues to reside within the Bahamas, the place FTX was headquartered.
If discovered responsible, SBF could spend the rest of his life in jail. The 30-year-old MIT graduate additionally faces similar fraud allegations from the Securities and Change Fee and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee.
In latest days, details about SBF’s detention has been scarce. Fox Hill Jail in Nassau, the nation’s capital, has been questioned previously for its poor circumstances. Studies point out that he shares a cell with 5 different people.
One other supply acquainted with the state of affairs instructed the Wall Avenue Journal that Sam Bankman-Fried’s workforce had offered meals that matched his dietary necessities, however they have been unsure as of Friday if he had obtained them.
Crypto complete market cap down under the $800 million mark and settles at $767 billion | Chart: TradingView.com
Sam Bankman-Fried: Full-Packed Detention Facility Awaits Him
In line with protection lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, Bankman-Fried would doubtless be detained on the Metropolitan Detention Heart in Brooklyn upon arriving within the US, though some defendants are being saved at jails simply exterior of New York Metropolis owing to congestion on the facility.
FTX was held up as a mannequin of company accountability within the in any other case loosely ruled cryptocurrency market, the place many different enterprises have faltered this 12 months.
That impression modified after a financial institution run revealed a $8 billion deficit within the firm’s books, prompting FTX to declare chapter on November 11.
The collapse of the corporate has despatched shockwaves all through the cryptosphere, inflicting crypto costs to plummet and driving one other large crypto firm, BlockFi, to declare chapter.