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SBF lands in the US, faces Fraud Charges
It has been confirmed that Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of bankrupt and collapsed crypto exchange platform FTX has been brought to the United States from the Bahamas in lieu of the charges laid against him.
The US authorities confirmed that the 30-year-old was extradited from the Bahamian prison where he was incarcerated, following suspicions and allegations of committing “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history” SBF, who denies these allegations, is set to appear in court on Dec 22.
Interestingly, two of his former associates have pleaded guilty to related allegations. FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, former head of cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, were charged with “participation n the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse.” This was announced by Damian Williams, attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang pic.twitter.com/u1y4cs3Koz
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 22, 2022
According to released court documents, and the US attorney’s public statement video, both Wang and Elison are cooperating with the authorities. Mr. Wang’s defense lawyer went on to say that Mr. Wang had accepted responsibility for his actions and took his obligations as a cooperating witness seriously.
“Samuel Bankman-Fried is now in FBI custody and is on his way back to the United States,” Mr. Williams said for the US Attorney’s office. “He will be transported directly to the Southern District of New York, and he will appear in court before a judge in this district as soon as possible.” He further urged anyone who was involved in the FTX sage to come clean, stating that “now is the time to get ahead of it,” According to him, the US authorities are moving things quickly and said their patience was “not eternal.’’
FTX had an estimated 5 million registered users using the exchange, but many have been left wondering if they will ever get back their cash trapped in FTX’s digital wallets.
SBF was once viewed as a young version of legendary US investor Warren Buffett, and as recently as late October, had a net worth estimated at more than $15bn.
