Besides the prosecution SBF is facing in the Bahamas, he is also wanted in the United States by the Department of Justice (DoJ) as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of bankrupt FTX Derivatives Exchange has been denied bail by a Magistrate in the Bahamas. As reported by Reuters, SBF was remanded to the custody of the Bahamas Department of Corrections and as it stands, he will spend the Christmas and New Year holidays in jail.
Sam Bankman-Fried appeared in Court in a blue suit without a tie, and he hugged his parents before being walked out of the Court in handcuffs. The presiding judge said SBF’s flight risk was too “great” and he will be remanded in the Bahamas Correctional facility until February 8.
When FTX imploded early last month, SBF enjoyed a high level of freedom with interview appearances and constant tweets. This facade enervated crypto investors, most of whom had lost money on the trading platform. That SBF was walking free appeared as though he was above the law according to conversations on crypto Twitter and this remand order comes off as the biggest relief since the FTX bankruptcy was filed.
While still serving as the CEO of the beleaguered trading platform, Sam Bankman-Fried misappropriated billions in funds belonging to users, one of which includes a $4 billion transfer made from FTX to Alameda Research, the exchange’s associated trading firm.
SBF’s woes did not start in the Bahamas and neither will they end there. Specifically, the transfer of funds from FTX to Alameda Research has invoked an indictment from US prosecutors alleging that the once-acclaimed crypto White Knight conspired to defraud the exchange’s customers.
Besides the prosecution SBF is facing in the Bahamas, he is also wanted in the United States by the Department of Justice (DoJ) as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Will Sam Bankman-Fried End Up in Jail?
This comes off as one of the most asked questions in the crypto sphere today, and the likelihood of Sam Bankman-Fried serving a jail term either in the Bahamas or the United States is increasing by the day.
US prosecutors are particularly going after SBF for atrocities bordering on his attempt to conceal the proceeds of his earnings from wire fraud. With US Attorney Damian Williams in New York affirming investigations into SBF’s criminal practices were ongoing, chances are that the once crypto billionaire will face as much as 118 years if convicted of all the 8 count charges brought on him by US prosecutors.
While FTX Creditors are still unsure how all these legal complications will help them in retrieving their funds from the cryptocurrency exchange, there is clear evidence that prosecutors are not letting the fraud committed to sliding without someone answering for it.
Many crypto platforms in their prime went gone bankrupt this year and including but not limited to Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and BlockFi. The FTX implosion was the most shocking, seeing the exchange showed good health with its failed bailouts of other distressed firms all through the summer.
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