FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried May Not Contest His Extradition To US: Latest Developments

The founder and former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, is anticipated to declare in court in the Bahamas on Monday that he will no longer fight his extradition to the United States, where he is charged with criminal fraud.

The former cryptocurrency billionaire will appear in court in the Bahamas on Dec. 19 to formally relinquish his right to extradition, enabling federal officials to obtain his return to the United States, according to Reuters.

Bankman-Fried was detained in the Bahamas earlier this week and charged with fraud.

He was accused by a U.S. grand jury of defrauding FTX's clients and lenders, as well as of conspiring to do so, and of money laundering.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the embattled founder of cheating investors.

Additionally, the SEC claims that Bankman-Fried used customer funds to support a lavish lifestyle and make political donations.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also filed charges against the former FTX CEO in connection with similar allegations that he conspired to defraud FTX customers of billions of dollars starting in 2019, the year the exchange was established.

Also read: Will Binance Succumb To Crypto Market Fears?

A 1991 agreement between the Bahamas and the United States codifies extradition. Due to the various opportunities to appeal extradition, the procedure typically takes months or even years to complete.

Initially, Bankman-Fried's legal team had intended to contest his extradition, however, if he decides to waive his right, the process will speed up considerably.

FTX and Bankman-Fried both have offices in the Bahamas. He is currently being held at Fox Hill Prison after a judge rejected his request to remain at home while he awaited an extradition hearing.

Bankman-Fried could spend up to 115 years in jail if found guilty on all charges.

A highly concentrated stake in self-issued FTX tokens FTT/USD, which Bankman-Fried's hedge fund Alameda Research used as collateral for billions in cryptocurrency loans, accelerated the fall of FTX.

When rival exchange Binance said it would sell its holding in FTT, there was a significant outflow of money.

A few days later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

According to allegations made by the SEC and CFTC, FTX mixed client funds with Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research, and lost billions in customer deposits in the process.

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