Topline
A Bahamas judge on Wednesday approved the extradition of former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of befallen crypto exchange FTX, from a Nassau jail to the United States, where the former crypto wunderkind faces a slew of criminal charges tied to the implosion of his multi-billion-dollar exchange and allegations he stole billions of dollars from customers while misleading investors.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, center, is escorted from a Corrections Department van as he arrives … [+] at the Magistrate Court building for a hearing, in Nassau, Bahamas on Wednesday.
Key Facts
In court on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried’s attorney read an affidavit waiving the FTX founder’s right to extradition proceedings, the Wall Street Journal reportedsetting the stage for him to arrive in the U.S. as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this week, Jerone Roberts, Bankman-Fried’s Bahamas-based attorney, told reporters the former executive had voluntarily agreed to be sent to the U.S. against the “strongest possible legal advice,” though he initially requested to see a copy of his U.S. indictment before moving forward.
The 30 year old was taken into custody in the Bahamas last Monday at the request of U.S. authorities after federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York filed eight charges against him, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and to commit wire, securities and commodities fraud.
A judge in the Bahamas denied him bail last week, determining he was a flight risk.
What To Watch For
Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if he’s convicted of all eight charges and given the maximum sentence.
Key Background
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November after a sudden liquidity crisis sparked by rival Binance selling off all its FTX tokens—putting a once high-flying firm and its formerly celebrated founder at the center of a whirlwind of controversy. Within days, allegations of mismanagement came to the fore, with longtime bankruptcy attorney John J. Ray III, who took over as FTX CEO, issuing a scathing critique of Bankman-Fried’s tenure and calling it the worst failure of corporate controls he’s ever seen. An indictment alleges Bankman-Fried “agreed with others to defraud customers of FTX.com by misappropriating those customers’ deposits and using those deposits to pay expenses and debts” of the former billion’s proprietary trading firm Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried has spent much of the past week at Nassau’s notorious Fox Hill Prison, which has had numerous problems in the past, including inadequate sanitation.
Tangent
Bankman-Fried’s fortune swelled to more than $26 billion as pandemic-era trading helped push FTX’s valuation to $32 billion at the end of last year. Just one month before FTX filed for bankruptcy, Bankmna-Fried referred to himself as a modern-day J.P. Morgan for helping to acquire struggling crypto firms. Following FTX’s own collapse, Bankman-Fried was pulled from Forbes’ billionaire ranks.
Further Reading
No Extradition Yet: Sam Bankman-Fried Ordered Back To Bahamian Jail In Surprise Twist (Forbes)
Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees To U.S. Extradition After Chaotic Day In Bahamas Court (Forbes)
