Bankman-Fried Expected to Allow Extradition, Leave Bahamas Jail Behind

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will reportedly not fight extradition to the U.S.

That’s according to a Saturday (Dec. 17) report from Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter. The disgraced ex-CEO of the crypto platform was arrested last week in the Bahamas, and indicted in federal court in New York.

Bankman-Fried, 30 – often known by the nickname “SBF” – is accused of defrauding FTX customers by using billions in investor funds to pay for things like real estate and campaign donations and to prop up his sister company, the crypto hedge fund Alameda Research.

PYMNTS called it “one of the most stunning and rapid penthouse-to-jailhouse implosions in modern history,” as what was once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world now “faces an $8 billion hole and over 1 million angry creditors.”

As we reported on Tuesday (Dec. 13), Bankman-Fried faces charges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

A federal indictment showed he is being charged by the DOJ with eight counts that range from wire fraud to various conspiracy counts.

Meanwhile, a civil complaint from the SEC charged Bankman-Fried with two counts of civil securities fraud and alleged that he and FTX’s crypto empire was a fraud “from the start” — going back to 2019, the year the company was founded.

Finally, the CFTC has charged Bankman-Fried and FTX with two counts of violating antifraud provisions in the Commodity Exchange Act. If convicted, SBF could spend decades in prison. Sentences for wire fraud alone can run up to 20 years.

Bankman-Fried has maintained that he made a number of mistakes in running his company but has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Upon his return to the U.S., SBF would likely go before a judge within 48 hours, the Reuters report said, and seek bail, something prosecutors would argue against.

“The missing money gives prosecutors strong arguments that he is a flight risk,” Michael Weinstein, a prosecutor-turned white-collar-defense-attorney, told Reuters. “I expect that if a judge grants pretrial release, they would impose very restrictive and onerous conditions.”

Bankman-Fried was denied bail in the Bahamas last week, with a judge saying the executive’s “access to substantial finances” made him a flight risk.

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