Sam Bankman-Fried wants to see indictment before extradition to US: Report

Published at: Dec. 19, 2022

Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently facing multiple charges related to wire fraud and securities fraud, reportedly said he wanted to see the indictment against him before agreeing to extradition to the United States.

Appearing in an emergency hearing of the Bahamas Magistrate Court on Dec. 19 for the first time since his bail was denied, Bankman-Fried reportedly said he was willing to not fight the process required for extradition to the United States but wanted to see all the charges against him. He spent the last week in the Bahamas’ Fox Hill Prison, a facility with previously reported cases of physical abuse against prisoners and “harsh” conditions.

Some members of the crypto space, including the team behind YouTuber Ben Armstrong, also known as Bitboy Crypto, reported on Twitter they appeared in person at the hearing to “look SBF in the eyes.”

We ready. About to go in. Guess who is in front of the line? Finally getting to look @SBF_FTX in the eyes this morning. pic.twitter.com/TtdYXZiUnD

— Ben Armstrong (@Bitboy_Crypto) December 19, 2022

In the United States, Bankman-Fried faces charges from the Justice Department, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission related to defrauding investors and lenders. Under his leadership, FTX and associated individuals also made millions in donations to political candidates, allegedly violating campaign finance laws.

It’s unclear why the former FTX CEO may not fight extradition — if found guilty of all charges, reports suggest he could face a 115-year sentence. He was returned to the the Bahamas Department of Corrections' custody following the hearing, where he was expected to remain until Feb. 8.

Related: Democrats to reportedly return over $1M of SBF's funding to FTX victims

Officials in the Bahamas arrested Bankman-Fried on Dec. 12 just hours after he had conducted a series of online interviews as part of the former CEO’s apology tour related to the collapse of FTX. Authorities reported SBF was originally sent to the prison’s hospital wing — presumably as part of efforts to administer his medication, including Adderall and antidepressants.

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