The Bahamas ordered Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to be extradited to the United States on Wednesday, where he will face charges of fraud in a New York court. At the time of filing this report, Bankman-Fried is reportedly aboard a plane flying from the Bahamas to the United States. He departed the Bahamas late Wednesday, according to local television Eyewitness News.
Bankman-Fried is due to appear in a Manhattan court as soon as Thursday morning, Financial Times reported.
Bankman-Fried, a Bahamas permanent resident, spent the past nine days in Nassau’s Fox Hill prison, weighing his choices before telling a magistrate court on Wednesday that he would not fight extradition.
A statement by Bahamas Attorney General Ryan Pinder said Bankman-Fried had waived his right to challenge the extradition.
In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Minister Frederick Mitchell had signed a warrant for Bankman-Fried’s surrender to US authorities under a bilateral extradition treaty.
FTX fallout: Bankman-Fried’s top lieutenants plead guilty
The US prosecutors charged two of Sam Bankman-Fried’s closest FTX colleagues on Wednesday, in connection with their roles in the alleged fraud that heralded the collapse of FTX.
Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of FTX’s trading affiliate Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, another FTX co-founder, pleaded guilty, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York announced late on Wednesday.
FTX has filed for bankruptcy, following which many of its investors told the media that they are unable to withdraw funds. According to a Manhattan court filing, FTX owed its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1 billion in credit.
Bankman-Fried was once cited as a young version of the marvellous US investor Warren Buffett. Bankman-Fried had an estimated net worth of over $15 billion as recently as late October.
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