Bankman-Fried initially said she would refuse extradition after her arrest a week ago in the Bahamas, where FTX lives and is based. He was denied bail and remanded to the Caribbean nation’s Fox Hill Prison.
Reuters first reported on Saturday that Bankman-Fried would go back to court to reverse her decision.
The 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul took advantage of the boom in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire and an influential political donor in the United States, until FTX collapsed in early November after a wave of withdrawals. The platform filed for bankruptcy on November 11.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in FTX client deposits to offset losses at his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research. They accuse Bankman-Fried of misleading lenders and investors, conspiring to launder money and violating US campaign finance laws.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged the risk management failures at FTX, but said he does not believe he bears criminal liability.
Upon being extradited to the United States, Bankman-Fried is due to appear before a judge in Manhattan within two days, although the hearing will probably take place quickly. You would be asked to plead guilty and the judge would make a decision on bail.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that Bankman-Fried is a flight risk and should remain in custody because of the large sums of money involved in the case and the unclear location of those funds.
Bankman-Fried will likely be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, though due to overcrowding at the facility, some federal defendants remain in jails outside New York City, said Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, a defense attorney at ZMO Law. PLLC who is not involved in the case.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
