Bankman-Fried will agree to extradition to U.S.: reports

Quick Take

  • Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday decided to agree to be extradited to the U.S. to face fraud charges, Reuters reported, citing two of his lawyers.
  • Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried departed the Monday hearing in Nassau in a black van marked “Corrections,” and he could be back in court later this week. 

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday decided to agree to be extradited to the U.S. to face fraud charges, Reuters reported, citing his lawyers.

The report came several hours after one of Bankman-Fried's lawyers told a judge at a hearing in the Bahamas that he wanted to see the indictment from the U.S. before consenting to be brought to the country. The New York Times subsequently reported that local defense lawyer Jerone Roberts said Bankman-Fried had agreed to the extradition voluntarily against "the strongest possible legal advice." 

“We as counsel will prepare the necessary documents to trigger the court,” the Times cited Roberts as saying; the paper cited sources as saying that Bankman-Fried had been planning on contesting the extradition but changed his mind over the weekend. 

Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried departed the Monday hearing in Nassau in a black van marked "Corrections" and said he could be back in court later this week. 

U.S. authorities last week charged Bankman-Fried a month after the crypto exchange he founded filed for bankruptcy protection, with an eight-count indictment from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York court accusing him of committing or conspiring to commit fraud on FTX's customers and lenders, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violate campaign finance disclosure laws. 

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.


Disclaimer: The former CEO and majority shareholder of The Block has disclosed a series of loans from former FTX and Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Nathan Crooks is the U.S managing editor at The Block, based in Miami. He was previously at Bloomberg News for 12 years, where he helmed coverage of South Florida after roles as a breaking news editor and bureau chief in Caracas, Venezuela. He's interviewed presidents, government ministers and CEOs, and, besides crypto, has covered major news events on the ground from earthquakes to hurricanes to the Chilean mine rescue in 2018. Nathan, a native of Clarion, Pennsylvania, holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, where he completed a specialist in political science, and an MBA from American University in Washington, D.C.

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