Sam Bankman-Fried may quickly be headed for a U.S. jail to face fraud expenses. The previous CEO of FTX—the cryptocurrency change that went abruptly bankrupt final month—is at present being held in a jail within the Bahamas.
Bahamian authorities arrested him on Monday following a proper notification by the U.S. authorities that it had filed felony expenses in opposition to him and would possible request his extradition. The U.S. and the Bahamas have had an extradition course of in place since 1994, when a treaty signed by each nations got here into pressure.
On Tuesday, a Bahamian choose denied him bail, deeming him a flight danger. Throughout the arraignment proceedings, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer stated he would combat plans to ship him to the U.S., and an extradition listening to was set for Feb. 8.
However now Bankman-Fried is anticipated to seem in a Bahamian court docket on Monday to reverse his choice to contest extradition, Reuters reported.
Federal prosecutors in New York have charged Bankman-Fried with eight felony counts, together with conspiracy and wire fraud, for allegedly misusing billions of {dollars} in clients’ funds. He faces as much as 115 years in jail if convicted on all eight counts.
‘Open and shut case for fraud’
Final month, billionaire Mark Cuban stated he’d “be afraid of going to jail for a very long time” if he have been Bankman-Fried.
And earlier this month, Mind Armstrong, CEO of the U.S.-based crypto change Coinbase, stated it was “baffling” why Bankman-Fried wasn’t already in jail.
“The DOJ or any person ought to be capable of make—simply based mostly on his public statements, I believe there’s a really open and shut case for fraud,” Armstrong stated on the a16z crypto Founder Summit.
FTX’s implosion final month stunned many inside and outdoors of the crypto sector. The $32 billion change had established itself as a pacesetter within the discipline, having enlisted star athletes like Tom Brady and different celebrities to bolster its picture.
Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO on Nov. 11, the identical day that FTX filed for chapter. A key accusation leveled in opposition to him is that he used buyer funds from his crypto change to fund dangerous bets at Alameda Analysis, his misleadingly named crypto hedge fund.
FTX is predicated within the Bahamas, the place Bankman-Fried reportedly loved an expensive penthouse life-style.
He’s now being held at Fox Hill jail within the Bahamas, based on Reuters, a jail described as “harsh” by the U.S. State Division final 12 months, with overcrowding and a rodent infestation on the time.
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