FTX founder Bankman-Fried agrees to extradition

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said in a Bahamian court on Wednesday that he has agreed to be extradited to the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

Bankman-Fried was arrested last week in the Bahamas after a U.S. federal court in Manhattan indicted him on eight counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, following the collapse of his cryptocurrency platform.

A lawyer for Bankman-Fried was quoted on Monday as saying his client had agreed to be extradited, and Wednesday’s court appearance paves the way for Bankman-Fried to head to the U.S.

The Associated Press, citing Bahamian news organization Our News, reported that Bankman-Fried is expected to return to the U.S. via Odyssey Aviation.

Bankman-Fried also faces separate complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

He faces allegations that largely center on his company’s purported use of customer deposits at FTX to bankroll his own hedge fund, called Alameda Research. 

The Department of Justice has also alleged that Bankman-Fried violated federal campaign finance laws by making contributions to candidates that were reported in the name of another person.

Bankman-Fried since being arrested has spent his time in the Bahamas’s Fox Hill prison, which has a reputation for unsanitary conditions and overcrowding.