NEWYORK: FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to appear in a U.S. courtroom around 1 p.m. EST (18:00 GMT) on Thursday, a court official said, the crypto exchange’s founder has said. extradited from The Bahamas to face fraud charges.
The appearance in Manhattan federal court, known as an indictment, marks the first step in a potentially lengthy criminal case over the collapse of the bankrupt exchange. Prosecutors have charged him with stealing billions of dollars in
FTX client funds to cover losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
At the hearing, Bankman-Fried is expected to be asked to give a plea. The judge can also decide whether to release him and if so, on what conditions.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested last week in The Bahamas, where he lives and is also home to FTX’s headquarters, further cementing the once-billionaire’s downfall. He left the Caribbean nation in FBI custody on Wednesday night.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged risk management failures at FTX, but said he did not believe he was criminally responsible. At trial in the Bahamas on Wednesday, his attorney there, Jerone Roberts, read an affidavit in which Bankman-Fried said he had agreed to extradition in part because of his “desire to settle the matter.” all relevant customers.”
Just hours after his plane took off, US prosecutors said two of his closest former associates have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with their investigation – a move that has increased considerable pressure on Bankman-Fried.
“If you’ve been involved in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get over it,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a video posted on Twitter late in the evening. Wednesday. “We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”
The son of two Stanford Law School professors and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Bankman-Fried has fueled an explosion in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a multi-billionaire. times as well as influential sponsors for the United States political campaigns.
But in early November, reports that FTX mixed customer funds with Alameda led to a wave of withdrawals from FTX, eventually causing the exchange – valued at $32 billion in January 2022 – to declare bankrupt. Cryptocurrency exchanges like FTX allow users to buy and sell digital assets.
Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on November 11, the same day it filed for bankruptcy.
The appearance in Manhattan federal court, known as an indictment, marks the first step in a potentially lengthy criminal case over the collapse of the bankrupt exchange. Prosecutors have charged him with stealing billions of dollars in
FTX client funds to cover losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
At the hearing, Bankman-Fried is expected to be asked to give a plea. The judge can also decide whether to release him and if so, on what conditions.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested last week in The Bahamas, where he lives and is also home to FTX’s headquarters, further cementing the once-billionaire’s downfall. He left the Caribbean nation in FBI custody on Wednesday night.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged risk management failures at FTX, but said he did not believe he was criminally responsible. At trial in the Bahamas on Wednesday, his attorney there, Jerone Roberts, read an affidavit in which Bankman-Fried said he had agreed to extradition in part because of his “desire to settle the matter.” all relevant customers.”
Just hours after his plane took off, US prosecutors said two of his closest former associates have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with their investigation – a move that has increased considerable pressure on Bankman-Fried.
“If you’ve been involved in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get over it,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a video posted on Twitter late in the evening. Wednesday. “We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”
The son of two Stanford Law School professors and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Bankman-Fried has fueled an explosion in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a multi-billionaire. times as well as influential sponsors for the United States political campaigns.
But in early November, reports that FTX mixed customer funds with Alameda led to a wave of withdrawals from FTX, eventually causing the exchange – valued at $32 billion in January 2022 – to declare bankrupt. Cryptocurrency exchanges like FTX allow users to buy and sell digital assets.
Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on November 11, the same day it filed for bankruptcy.
