The former crypto billionaire could face life imprisonment if the government pursues wire or bank fraud charges.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was arrested by the Bahamian authorities, has reportedly been flown to the US after a judge approved his extradition from the Bahamas. The ex-crypto billionaire would be handed to law enforcement agencies upon getting to the US. Popularly called SBF, the crypto exchange boss was arrested on the 12th of December. This came after the Office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York sent a sealed indictment letter to the Bahamian government. After spending over a week in detention, a judge has approved his extradition from the Bahamas. Also, the former crypto billionaire agreed not to contest his extradition.
FTX CEO Extraction to US Approved
The court approved SBF’s extradition after the FTX CEO appeared at the Bahamian court for the third time since his arrest. His third appearance before the Bahamas Magistrate Court was on the 21st of December, where he waived his right to a formal extraction process which could take weeks. In attendance were officials from the Bureau of Investigation, US Marshals Services, and the US Embassy to assist the extradition process. The Office of the Attorney General of the Bahamas also issued a statement to confirm the FTX CEO’s extradition to the US. Reports said SBF had been driven from the court after the hearing.
Bankman-Fried has boarded a plane in the custody of US agents to the US, where he will be facing a list of criminal offenses. He has to deal with charges and complaints from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). SEC’s enforcement director Gurbir Grewal stated that the Commission is charging SBF with a violation of its securities laws. At the same time, the exchange head is being charged by the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. The former crypto billionaire could face life imprisonment if the government pursues wire or bank fraud charges.
FTX’s Saga
FTX’s unfortunate event started shortly after its collapse in November. Although the company filed for bankruptcy, the sudden allegations seemed to be the beginning of the end for the exchange. A recent Coinspeaker report says that FTX has recovered $1 billion in assets, including $720 million in cash. The new management, which includes John Ray III and his associates, has been seeking ways to resolve the exchange’s insolvency. Repeatedly, Ray has emphasized the tasking job in solving the challenge due to poor record keeping by the past management. The team that took over from SBF also said that it is working to secure more funds from various accounts.
“We are reaching out to all of those banks and changing the signatories on the accounts so that we can get access to the accounts and move the cash as much as we can to an authorized depository institution,” noted the current Chief Financial Officer Mary Cilia.
Ibukun is a crypto/finance writer interested in passing relevant information, using non-complex words to reach all kinds of audience.
Apart from writing, she likes to see movies, cook, and explore restaurants in the city of Lagos, where she resides.
