Bankman-Fried would face up to eight federal charges ranging from securities fraud to money laundering and wire fraud.
Following his recent arrest in the Bahamas and about three courtroom hearings this week, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be extradited to the United States. This follows after a CNBC report that he defied the advice of his legal team on Tuesday, signing extradition papers. That move will see that he flies out of the Bahamas no later than today to face a US trial.
Sam Bankman-Fried Charged on 8 Counts
In the U.S., Bankman-Fried would face up to eight federal charges ranging from securities fraud to money laundering and wire fraud. However, the charges are a total of allegations from both the country’s financial regulators as well as law enforcement. According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the largest and arguably, the most “brazen” fraud in modern history.
For the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York also, the 30-year-old MIT graduate has questions to answer. This is particularly concerning approximately $8 billion worth of customer assets that they claim SBF squandered on irrelevancies. According to the Attorney’s Office, he used customer funds to fulfill an extravagant lifestyle and fund several political movements. In some of his misuse antics, SBF also made extravagant real estate purchases and bought stadium naming rights among other vanity projects he pursued.
Nonetheless, expectations are that the trial will be a very long one. So, there’s a possibility that the one-time crypto billionaire walks free on bail, while the court proceedings continue.
How It All Started
Bankman-Fried’s problems began shortly after his crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed in November. The exchange did file for bankruptcy but several allegations soon began flying around. For some, the exchange was about as shady as any business gets, especially with its lack of “real” reserve and backing.
Bankman-Fried was later indicted in New York federal court on December 9 and was eventually arrested three days later. Coinspeaker reported at the time, that Bahamian authorities picked up SBF at the request of US prosecutors.
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