12/19/2022
FTX’s Bankman-Fried to Appear in Bahamas Court; Expected to Waive Extradition
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, is expected to appear in court in the Bahamas on Monday and agree to be extradited to the United States, where he faces fraud charges.
Bankman-Fried initially said he would fight extradition after his arrest a week ago in the Bahamas, where he lives and FTX is based. He was denied bail and remanded to the Caribbean nation’s Fox Hill prison.
The 30-year-old crypto mogul rode a boom in the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several times over and an influential political donor in the United States, until FTX collapsed in early November after a wave of withdrawals. The exchange declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits to plug losses at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.
They accuse Bankman-Fried of misleading lenders and investors, conspiring to launder money, and violating U.S. campaign finance laws.
Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability.
Source: Reuters
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