Unique-Sam Bankman-Fried to reverse choice on contesting extradition By Reuters

By Jasper Ward

(Reuters) – Former FTX Chief Govt Sam Bankman-Fried is predicted to look in courtroom within the Bahamas on Monday to reverse his choice to contest extradition to the USA, the place he faces fraud fees, an individual aware of the matter stated on Saturday.

The 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul was indicted in federal courtroom in Manhattan on Tuesday and accused of participating in a scheme to defraud FTX clients through the use of billions of {dollars} in stolen deposits to pay for bills and money owed and to make investments for his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Analysis LLC.

His choice to consent to extradition would pave the best way for him to look in U.S. courtroom to face wire fraud, cash laundering and marketing campaign finance fees.

Upon arrival in the USA, Bankman-Fried would seemingly be held on the Metropolitan Detention Heart in Brooklyn, although some federal defendants are being held at jails simply exterior New York Metropolis as a consequence of overcrowding on the facility, stated protection lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma.

At his preliminary courtroom listening to in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried could be requested to enter a plea and a decide would make a dedication on bail, Margulis-Ohnuma stated. The lawyer added that such a listening to should happen inside 48 hours of Bankman-Fried’s arrival in the USA, although it will seemingly be sooner.

Prosecutors will seemingly argue that Bankman-Fried is a flight danger and will stay in custody due to the big sums of cash concerned within the case and the unclear location of these funds.

“The lacking cash provides prosecutors sturdy arguments that he’s a flight danger,” stated former federal prosecutor and white-collar protection lawyer Michael Weinstein. “I anticipate that if a decide grants pretrial launch, they’d impose very restrictive and onerous situations.”

Any trial is probably going greater than a 12 months away, authorized specialists informed Reuters.

A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to remark. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged danger administration failings at FTX however has stated he doesn’t imagine he has legal legal responsibility.

A spokesman for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Manhattan declined to remark.

‘BIGGEST FINANCIAL FRAUDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY’

It was not instantly clear what prompted Bankman-Fried to alter his thoughts and resolve to not contest extradition.

He was remanded on Tuesday to the Bahamas’ Fox Hill jail after Chief Justice of the Peace JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt rejected his request to stay at residence whereas awaiting a listening to on his extradition.

The U.S. State Division in a 2021 report stated situations at Fox Hill have been “harsh,” citing overcrowding, rodent infestation and prisoners counting on buckets as bathrooms. Authorities there say situations have since improved.

Bankman-Fried amassed a fortune valued at over $20 billion as he rode a cryptocurrency growth to construct FTX into one of many world’s largest exchanges. His arrest final Monday within the Bahamas, the place he lives and the place FTX relies, got here only a month after the alternate collapsed amid a flurry of buyer withdrawals.

Damian Williams, the highest federal prosecutor in Manhattan, described the collapse of FTX as one of many “largest monetary frauds in American historical past.” He has described the workplace’s investigation as ongoing, and urged folks with data of wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda to cooperate.

One high govt at FTX, Ryan Salame, informed securities regulators within the Bahamas on Nov. 9 that belongings belonging to the alternate’s clients have been transferred to Alameda to cowl the hedge fund’s losses, based on a doc made public as a part of FTX’s chapter proceedings in Delaware.

FTX filed for chapter on Nov. 11, the identical day Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO.

A lawyer for Salame didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.