Yesterday it was announced that the former CEO of ftxSam Bankman-Fried (SBF), in the Bahamas by the police was arrested. This was done at the request of the US authorities. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged him with committing fraud. Today it was announced that he will not be released for the time being. His application for bail has been rejected by the court.
SBF in jail
SBF lawyers had asked Judge Joyann Ferguson-Pratt for a $250,000 bail. Otherwise, SBF would not be able to take his medication on a regular basis. In addition, he would not be able to handle his vegetarian diet in custody. The judge didn’t want to know about this and rejected the request.
FTX UPDATE: SBF leaves Magistrate’s court. He will be remanded to The Bahamas Department of Corrections until his matter resumes on Feb 8, 2023. pic.twitter.com/dqXsHeNXSK
— Eyewitness News Bahamas (@ewnewsbahamas) December 13, 2022
Prosecutors in the Bahamas also argue that releasing a suspect who may be extradited to the United States violates a treaty the countries have.
Extradition to the US
In addition, the judge announces that the next hearing will take place on February 8 of the following year. It will be decided there whether SBF will be extradited to the United States. So SBF will remain stuck in the Bahamas at least until then.
SBF lawyers have indicated that they will contest a possible extradition to the United States. So it is clear that SBF prefers to stay in the Bahamas.
If he is extradited, he may face a hefty prison sentence. He is being charged with a large sum of crimes. First of all, that is years of committing fraud, but also money laundering, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. All in all, it doesn’t look good for what was previously supposedly the angel of the crypto world.