Former CEO of sham crypto firm FTX Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250million bail
22 December 2022, 20:41
The former CEO of sham cryptocurrency firm FTX Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on a $250million bail after a deal was struck in a New York City courtroom.
US authorities charged Bankman-Fried, who likes to be known by his initials SBF, with ‘one of the biggest financial frauds in US history’ on Tuesday.
Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US, leaving thousands of people who have invested in it unable to withdraw their money. They’ve now been warned to only expect a ‘small fraction’ back of what they initially put in.
Bankman-Fried, 30, faces eight criminal charges including wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to fraud as well as civil charges including misleading investors who put more than $1billion into his company.
He is also accused of stealing users deposits to lend money to his hedge fund Alameda Research and using the money to purchase real estate in the Bahamas – where he was arrested.
If he is convicted at court, he faces spending 155 years in jail.
Last week SBF appeared at court in the Bahamas and was held in prison without any bail in the country’s notorious Fox Hill Prison.
The judge said he was considered a flight risk because of the seriousness of the charges and the wealth that he has and he was ordered to hand over his passport.
On Monday he was hauled before the judge and agreed to be extradited to the US.
He was released to the FBI and they flew him to New York.
Today he appeared at court in the US for the first time wearing a dark suit and tie and spoke only to confirm that he understood the bail agreement.
The bail agreement is understood to be part of a deal between the federal prosecutors and his defence attorneys.
Part of the conditions is that he will be on house arrest at his parents home, who are thought to be two of the four people behind his enormous bail pay out of $250million .
They are not expected to pay anything upfront unless he doesn’t show up to court.
