Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, will be held at home while awaiting trial in the US on allegations of defrauding clients and investors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.
A US judge ruled that the Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, could be released to his parents after signing a $250 million bond.
Bankman-Fried did neither accept nor deny guilt during the hearing. He has already distanced himself from the allegations, which have rocked the cryptocurrency sector as a whole.
“I didn’t knowingly commit fraud. I don’t think I committed fraud. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was,” he told the BBC, shortly before his 12 December arrest in the Bahamas, where he lived, and FTX was based.
On Wednesday, two of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s closest colleagues pled guilty to fraud and are cooperating with the inquiry.
Federal prosecutors in New York have accused Mr. Bankman-Fried of illegally utilizing FTX client money to pay his other crypto firm, Alameda Research, buy property, and make millions in political donations.
They labeled it as “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history” in a press conference last week, announcing eight criminal accusations, including wire fraud, money laundering, and campaign financing violations. Financial regulators have also filed civil allegations.
Mr. Bankman-Fried spent nine days in a Bahamas prison pondering his options before informing a Nassau magistrates’ court on Wednesday that he would not contest extradition, which may have resulted in a lengthy legal battle.
During a court hearing in New York on Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos stated that prosecutors would not object to Sam Bankman-Fried being released on bail despite a “fraud of epic proportions,” citing his decision to return to the US voluntarily and his significantly diminished financial situation.
His clause is that he forfeit his passport and agree to location monitoring and incarceration at his parents’ house in California. In addition, he consented to regular mental health treatment. Mr. Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, stated that his parents would co-sign the $250 million bail.
Sam Bankman-Fried spoke only once at his arraignment on Thursday, when asked if he understood the terms of his release and that he may be charged with another crime if he failed to appear in court.
“Yes, I do,” he said.
