Ex-FTX boss wants to reverse his extradition decision to the US

FTX’s ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) might soon change his decision on contesting extradition from the Bahamas to the US. According to a Reuters report, the 30-year-old crypto lord will seek to reverse his decision in a court on Monday.

A back door?

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday that the former FTX CEO is expected to be deported to the U.S. where he would face multiple charges, including wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Per the report, SBF is accused of a scheme where he used FTX’s customers’ deposits on his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. The report adds that the former CEO used “billions of dollars in stolen deposits to pay for expenses and debts” of the company and to support Alameda.

In addition, the popular crypto outlet The Block’s CEO Mike McCaffrey also stepped down while sharing that he received a combined $27 million from SBF in 2021 and 2022. McCaffrey added that no one at The Block knew anything about his financial arrangements with SBF.

What will happen in the U.S.?

According to defense lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, the former FTX CEO will be kept at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, an overcrowded facility. He will then be expected to stand in court within 48 hours where he “would be asked to enter a plea and a judge would make a determination on bail,” per Margulis-Ohnuma. “The missing money gives prosecutors strong arguments that he is a flight risk,” said Michael Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor.

“I expect that if a judge grants pretrial release, they would impose very restrictive and onerous conditions.”

Michael Weinstein

On the other hand, experts have told Reuters that it’ll take at least a year before “any trials” happen.