Disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried has decided not to challenge his extradition from the Bahamas to the US, where he faces fraud charges.
Bankrupt tycoon FTX, 30, was arrested Monday night after the Bahamian government received official notification from the Department of Justice that Bankman-Fried had been accused of defrauding investors of $1.8 billion.
He is anticipated to announce his decision when he appears in court on Monday, a source conversant in the matter he told Reuters.
The request would allow him to appear in a US court to face bank fraud, money laundering and campaign finance charges,
Back on American soil, Bankman-Fried will likely be held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, although some federal defendants are being held in other prisons on the outskirts of Latest York City due to overcrowding, defense lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said. .
![FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is seen handcuffed as he leaves court in the Bahamas](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/sbf-2.jpg?w=1024)
According to Margulis Ohnum, inside 48 hours of returning to the USA, Bankman Fried will appear in a Manhattan courthouse to file a motion and a judge will make a decision on his bail.
Prosecutors are likely to argue that there’s a risk of absconding and he should remain in custody, according to Reuters, given the massive amounts of cash involved within the case.
Legal experts said any possible trial can be greater than a yr away. He faces a maximum of 115 years in prison if convicted.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment to Reuters.
Bankman-Fried, who was once estimated to have a net price of $32 billion, admitted faults in risk management at FTX but said he didn’t imagine he was criminally liable.
![Sam Bankman-Fried](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/sbf-4.jpg?w=1024)
Earlier this week, he told a Bahamian court that he wouldn’t drop his extradition hearing after being sent back to the US – where he faces a slew of federal charges, including fraud and illegal campaign contributions.
It’s unclear what prompted the failed tech mogul to change his mind, nonetheless he’s being held on the famous Fox Hill prison within the Bahamas – notorious for being infested with rats and bugs and so bad the warden called it “unsuitable for humanity.”
Bankman-Fried spent Wednesday night within the infirmary of a Nassau prison that has been condemned by human rights representatives for its inadequate medical and sanitary conditions for inmates.
On Tuesday, he told a Bahamas judge to let him out of prison, citing his vegan weight loss plan and apparent diagnosis of ADD. His attorney offered bail of $250,000, but it surely was denied after prosecutors argued that he posed a flight risk.
He filed a second bail application Thursday after a magistrate within the Caribbean country ordered the arrest of Bankman-Fried pending his potential extradition to the USA, a source conversant in the matter told Reuters.
![Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies at House Financial Services Committee Hearing](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/sbf-5.jpg?w=1024)
Bankman-Fried is accused of using billions of dollars in stolen deposits to pay expenses, debts and to spend money on his cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Research LLC.
Damian Williams, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, described the FTX implosion as considered one of the “biggest financial scams in American history.”
He said his office’s investigation was ongoing and called on individuals who know of wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda to cooperate.
Ryan Salame, a top executive at FTX, told Bahamas securities regulators on Nov. 9 that assets belonging to the exchange’s clients had been transferred to Alameda to cover hedge fund losses, according to a document released as a part of FTX’s Delaware bankruptcy proceedings.
Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX on November 11 – the day the corporate filed for bankruptcy.
With Postal Wires