Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the insolvent FTX Derivatives Exchange who was previously denied bail earlier in the month in the Bahamas has now been released on bail by a magistrate Judge in the United States. Bankman-Fried’s travel documents have been seized, and he will be placed under house arrest, where he will be monitored locally.
Inner City Press reported the news on a Twitter thread. According to the report, Bankman-Fried is expected to pay a $250 million bond for his release. The bond will be signed by him, his parents, and a non-relative.
OK – #FTX Sam Bankman-Fried is in court @SDNYLIVE, Inner City Press is covering the case https://t.co/nJNoyt6vlI CFTC Proposed Consent Order on Ellison on Patreon here https://t.co/I5q30wiIkE will live tweet, thread below pic.twitter.com/Kbs7n7qcOY
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 22, 2022
As per conditions for the bail, Bankman-Fried will live at his parent’s home in Palo Alto, California USA. He will only be allowed to leave the house based on certain circumstances such as exercising, mental health examinations, or treatment for drug abuse. Bankman-Fried will also not be permitted to do a new business without getting preapproval from the government.
Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein who granted Bankman Fried’s bail application provided reasons for his decision. According to him, the former CEO is now well-known for his crimes and will therefore be unable to conduct financial transactions.
He added that Bankman-Fried now poses a flight risk and would thus be easily identified. The former CEO will also be arrested if he violates the terms of his bail, according to the Judge.
The embarrassed CEO signed extradition papers earlier in the week, he was eventually moved from the Bahamas to the United States where he will be tried for the crimes committed while he was the CEO of the FTX exchange.
Accomplices to Bankman-Fried’s Crimes
Two former Bankman-Fried employees and executives in the defunct trading platform have admitted to the Southern District Court in New York that they assisted the former CEO in committing fraud in FTX Exchange.
Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty in court to being Bankman-Fried’s accomplices in the illegal transfer of funds from the insolvent FTX exchange to Alameda Research LLC and also the charges of alleged money laundering.
The charges against Bankman-FTX Fried’s accomplices also shed more light on the illegal transfer of customer funds between FTX and Alameda and how the senior executives inflated the apparent value of FTT, the exchange’s native token, in order to boost their own personal financial interests.
According to court documents, Ellison will be released on bail conditions of a $250,000 bond, travel restrictions to the United States, and the surrender of her passport.
