FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Gets Sent Back to Bahamas Jail

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the now-bankrupt crypto derivatives exchange FTX, has been sent back to a federal jail in the Bahamas.

SBF Returns to Jail

The FTX founder is expected to be extradited to the United States. He has the right to either consent to or fight extradition. As of last week, SBF noted that he would “fight extradition,” meaning that he did not want to be handed over to the U.S. authorities for prosecution.

But at a Monday court hearing in the Bahamas, the former crypto billionaire made a different move. He signaled his readiness to waive his right to fight extradition to the U.S. This he did by requesting a copy of the federal indictment against him. Afterwards, he declared his agreement to go to the U.S. for extradition.

SBF’s local lawyer, Jerome Roberts, revealed in court that he had no prior notice about the change of heart of the FTX founder. This sparked confusion in the courtroom. The court hearing was eventually adjourned for another time.

SBF was later returned to Fox Hill jail, a notorious federal prison in Nassau, Bahamas.

SBF’s Legal Battle

On December 13th, SBF was arrested by the police authorities in the Bahamas. The move was taken at the request of the U.S. government.

Recall that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had accused the FTX boss of fraud earlier this month. In its charge, the financial agency alleged that SBF failed to reveal the unknown movement of users’ funds into his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.

With SBF waiving his right to fight extradition, he will likely face a lawsuit charged by the U.S. SEC.

Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried declined a request to testify at a U.S. court hearing scheduled for December 13th, the same day he was arrested.

The collapse of FTX and its sister companies has affected the prices of assets in the crypto market. Billions of dollars worth of customers’ assets have been swept from the market. This has shaken the finances of retail and institutional investors.