Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried can list $250 million in bonds (nearly Rs 2,070) and live at his parents’ home in California while awaiting trial on charges of defrauding investors and robbed customers’ deposits on its FTX trading platform. a judge said on Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Bankman-Fried, 30, “perpetrated a large-scale fraud.” Roos proposed strict bail terms, including a $250 million bond and house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
Roos said an important reason for allowing bail was that Bankman-Fried had agreed to give up extradition.
Judge Gabriel W Gorenstein agreed to the bail and also approved the proposed house arrest. He also said Bankman-Fried would be required to obtain an electronic surveillance bracelet before leaving the Manhattan courthouse.
Bankman-Fried wore a suit and tie in court and sat among his lawyers. Two US marshals sat behind him.
Bankman-Fried, arrested in the Bahamas last week, was taken to New York late Wednesday after deciding not to object to his extradition.
While he was in the air, the US attorney in Manhattan announced that two of Bankman-Fried’s closest business associates had also been charged and had secretly pleaded guilty.
Carolyn Ellison, 28, former CEO of commercial firm Bankman-Fried, Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, co-founder FTXpleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and merchandise fraud.
US Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that both are cooperating with investigators and have agreed to assist in any prosecution. He has warned others who have triggered the alleged fraud.
“If you have been involved in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get over it,” he said. “We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”
Prosecutors and regulators allege that Bankman-Fried was at the center of several illegal schemes to use client and investor funds for personal gain. He faces the possibility of decades in prison if found guilty on all counts.
In a series of interviews before his arrest, Bankman-Fried said he never intended to defraud anyone.
Bankman-Fried is accused of using money, illegally obtained from FTX clients, to conduct transactions in Alameda, lavishly spending on real estate and contributing millions of dollars to the election campaign. for US politicians.
FTX, founded in 2019, has rapidly pushed the crypto investment phenomenon to new heights, becoming one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Finding customers outside of the tech world, it hired actor and comic book writer Larry David to appear in a TV commercial that ran during the Super Bowl, hyping cryptocurrency as the next big thing.
However, Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire came to an abrupt collapse in early November when customers withdrew their deposits in bulk amid reports questioning some of its financial arrangements.
