Former cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried is set free on $250 million bail, a federal judge ruled in his first US trial.
Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, went to his New York arraignment on Thursday, a day after being extradited from the Bahamas.
He said the bail was part of a deal between federal prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers CNBC.
Bankman-Fried was charged with eight charges including securities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy following the company’s meteoric 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 buy lavish real estate in the Bahamas and make donations to political candidates in the US.
In a series of interviews since the company’s collapse, Bankman-Fried has denied the fraud allegations and stated that he never intended to defraud customers.
Bankman-Fried faces a maximum prison sentence of 115 years if convicted on all charges.
After being arrested in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was held without bail at the country’s notorious Fox Hill Prison.
Bankman-Fried appeared before a Bahamian judge on Monday and agreed to be extradited to the United States. He was released into FBI custody and flown to New York.
On Wednesday evening, 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 role in the fraud that contributed to the collapse of FTX,” Williams said. Both Wang and Ellison pleaded guilty on Dec. 19 and are cooperating with investigators.
“If you have participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. We are moving fast and our patience is not eternal,” said Williams.
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