The former CEO of the bankrupt FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has agreed to a voluntary but conditional U.S. extradition. If convicted for the alleged fraud charges, SBF could potentially face a 115-year jail term.
Reporting on the development, Eleanor Terrett, Journalist, Fox News, tweeted:
🚨BREAKING: @SBF_FTX has agreed to be extradited to the US and will be arriving either tonight or tomorrow. Two sources have informed @FoxNews he’s expected to be released on bail per pre-conditions his lawyer made with SDNY prosecutors in exchange for agreeing to extradition.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) December 19, 2022
Eleanor states SBF will reportedly be released on bail, per an extradition precondition stated by his lawyer to the SDNY prosecutors.
After being arrested from his Bahamas penthouse this past week, SBF will now face several criminal and civil charges (viz. fraud, money laundering, etc.) in the U.S.
Per his lawyer in the Bahamas, SBF has agreed for the U.S. extradition against “the strongest possible legal advice.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint states FTX raised over $1.8 billion from equity investors since 2019. This also includes around $1.1 billion raised from 90 investors based in the U.S.
SBF had initially marketed the FTX exchange as a dependable and responsible crypto asset trading platform. He had particularly emphasized on the platform’s advanced and automated risk features.
But the complaint in question alleges that SBF ran a sustained fraud streak only to hide the underlying reality from FTX’s investors.
On the FTX mess, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated,
We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto.
FTX had initiated bankruptcy proceedings the previous month following a failed merger attempt with Binance.
Interesting to know that SBF’s family is reportedly being alleged to have an active involvement in SBF’s wrongdoings.
The incumbent FTX CEO, John J. Ray III, states to the U.S. Congress members that Joseph Bankman and “the family certainly received payments” from FTX.
