FTX co-founder to be extradited to U.S.
2022.12.21 12:00
FTX co-founder to be extradited to U.S.
Budrigannews.com – Sam Bankman-Seared has agreed to removal to the US, as per a sworn statement his legal counselor read on Wednesday at a trial in the Bahamas.
It makes it possible for the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX to be transported by air to the United States, where he will be charged with fraud.
According to the affidavit, which was signed on December 20, he made the decision to consent to extradition partly out of a “desire to make the relevant customers whole.”
A person with knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday morning that officials from the FBI and the United States Marshals Service, which is in charge of transporting people in U.S. custody, had arrived in Nassau, the capital.
When Bankman-Fried would leave the Caribbean nation for New York was not immediately known.
In what U.S. Attorney Damian Williams described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted the 30-year-old cryptocurrency tycoon for stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer assets to offset losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Last week, FTX’s Bankman-Fried was detained in The Bahamas in response to an extradition request from the United States. He initially stated that he would fight extradition, but over the weekend, Reuters and other media outlets reported that he would change his mind.
Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s American defense lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment.
Despite acknowledging FTX’s risk management flaws, Bankman-Fried has stated that he does not believe he is criminally liable.
Following a baffling series of events this week, the expected extradition status of Bankman-Fried remained ambiguous.
Following the news that he had agreed to be extradited, Bankman-Fried showed up at the courthouse on Monday in a black van that was marked “Corrections.” He was dressed in a white shirt and a blue suit jacket, which was a departure from the casual attire that he was known for while running FTX.
Jerone Roberts, his local defense attorney, stated at the hearing that he was not informed of the proceeding’s purpose. After a brief recess, Roberts stated that his client had seen an affidavit outlining the charges against him, but before consenting to extradition, he wanted access to the entire U.S. indictment.
The meeting was then postponed. They were anticipated to resume on Tuesday morning, but Bankman-Fried’s legal documents were not completed in time.
Bankman-Seared rode a crypto blast to turn into a very rich person a few times over and a powerful U.S. political giver, before FTX’s accident cleared out his riches and discolored his standing. Concerns about funds mixing with Alameda led to a flurry of customer withdrawals, which ultimately led to the collapse.
On November 11, the $32-billion exchange declared bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO.
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He has since been kept at The Bahamas Branch of Revisions in Nassau, known as Fox Slope jail. In a report from 2021, the U.S. State Department referred to the conditions at the facility as “harsh,” citing overcrowding, an infestation of rodents, and prisoners using buckets as toilets.
According to local authorities, things have improved since then.
