The founder of the insolvent crypto exchange FTX is to be extradited to the USA. Sam Bankman-Fried will be brought to the United States from the Bahamas, the Caribbean state’s Attorney General said. The 30-year-old waived his right to contest the extradition. Bankman-Fried was arrested on December 12 at the request of US authorities in the Bahamas. In the United States, he faces a long prison sentence.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the financial manager of fraud. The agency accuses Bankman-Fried of misleading investors with false promises and embezzling their funds. It’s about more than 1.8 billion US dollars (more than 1.7 billion euros).
US Attorneys said on Wednesday that two people close to Bankman-Fried had pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to the collapse of FTX.” One of the two is said to be Gary Wang, with whom Bankman-Fried founded the company in 2019.
Bankman-Fried’s FTX group had collapsed due to huge withdrawals of funds related to liquidity concerns. Billions in customer funds could not be paid out. Bankman-Fried, who is only called SBF in the crypto industry, was considered a crypto prodigy and just a few months ago adorned the front pages of US business publications such as “Fortune”.
