Former cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250million bail, a federal judge ruled during his first court appearance in the US.
Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, went to his arraignment in a New York on Thursday, one day after being extradited from the Bahamas.
The bail is part of a deal between federal prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s defense attorneys, according to CNBC.
Bankman-Fried was charged with eight counts including securities fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy after the company’s rapid collapse in November.
The former CEO has been accused of stealing user deposits to lend money to his hedge fund, Alameda Research. He has also been accused of using these funds to purchase lavish real estate in the Bahamas and to make donations to political candidates in the US.
In a series of interviews since the company’s collapse, Bankman-Fried has denied the allegations of fraud, stating that he never intended to defraud customers.
Bankman-Fried faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
After he was arrested in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was held without bail at the country’s notorious Fox Hill Prison.
On Monday, Bankman-Fried appeared before a Bahamian judge and agreed to be extradited to the United States. He was released to FBI custody and flown to New York.
On Wednesday night, US Attorney Damian Williams announced that two of Bankman-Fried’s associates at FTX were also charged with wire fraud and conspiracy.
Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, were both charged with crimes related to ‘their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse,’ Williams said. Both Wang and Ellison pleaded guilty on December 19 and are cooperating with investigators.
‘If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. We are moving quickly, and our patience is not eternal,’ Williams said.
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