The 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul was indicted in federal court docket in Manhattan on Tuesday and accused of partaking in a scheme to defraud FTX clients through the use of billions of {dollars} in stolen deposits to pay for bills and money owed and to make investments for his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Analysis LLC.
His determination to consent to extradition would pave the best way for him to look in U.S. court docket to face wire fraud, cash laundering and marketing campaign finance fees.
Upon arrival in america, Bankman-Fried would possible be held on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn, although some federal defendants are being held at jails simply exterior New York Metropolis as a result of overcrowding on the facility, stated protection lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma.
At his preliminary court docket listening to in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried can be requested to enter a plea and a decide would make a dedication on bail, Margulis-Ohnuma stated. The legal professional added that such a listening to should happen inside 48 hours of Bankman-Fried’s arrival in america, although it might possible be sooner.
Prosecutors will possible argue that Bankman-Fried is a flight threat and may stay in custody due to the massive sums of cash concerned within the case and the unclear location of these funds.
Uncover the tales of your curiosity
“The lacking cash offers prosecutors robust arguments that he’s a flight threat,” stated former federal prosecutor and white-collar protection legal professional Michael Weinstein. “I count on that if a decide grants pretrial launch, they might impose very restrictive and onerous situations.”
Any trial is probably going greater than a 12 months away, authorized consultants instructed Reuters.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to remark. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged threat administration failings at FTX however has stated he doesn’t consider he has legal legal responsibility.
A spokesman for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Manhattan declined to remark.
‘BIGGEST FINANCIAL FRAUDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY’
It was not instantly clear what prompted Bankman-Fried to vary his thoughts and determine to not contest extradition.
He was remanded on Tuesday to the Bahamas’ Fox Hill jail after Chief Justice of the Peace JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt rejected his request to stay at dwelling whereas awaiting a listening to on his extradition.
The U.S. State Division in a 2021 report stated situations at Fox Hill have been “harsh,” citing overcrowding, rodent infestation and prisoners counting on buckets as bogs. Authorities there say situations have since improved.
Bankman-Fried amassed a fortune valued at over $20 billion as he rode a cryptocurrency growth to construct FTX into one of many world’s largest exchanges. His arrest final Monday within the Bahamas, the place he lives and the place FTX is predicated, got here only a month after the alternate collapsed amid a flurry of buyer withdrawals.
Damian Williams, the highest federal prosecutor in Manhattan, described the collapse of FTX as one of many “largest monetary frauds in American historical past.” He has described the workplace’s investigation as ongoing, and urged folks with data of wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda to cooperate.
One high government at FTX, Ryan Salame, instructed securities regulators within the Bahamas on Nov. 9 that belongings belonging to the alternate’s clients have been transferred to Alameda to cowl the hedge fund’s losses, in keeping with a doc made public as a part of FTX’s chapter proceedings in Delaware.
FTX filed for chapter on Nov. 11, the identical day Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO.
A lawyer for Salame didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Discover more from News Journals
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
