Sam Bankman-Fried
Krampus is coming to the crypto space this holiday season
’Twas the weeks before Christmas on a island far away, None could have foreseen crypto’s golden boy going astray. When politicians and firms took FTX‘s money with glee, Did they truly know the depth of one man’s duplicity? Imagine if you will, the exchange’s younger days, When business people showered the LoL player with praise. The markets were high, adoption was booming… How could we have seen the massive threat looming? “Come in and talk to us,” the SEC pled, As money flowed to agency and lawmaker instead. For many, there would be no Merry Christmas this year, Just a time for Krampusnacht to fill us with fear. “Assets are fine,” said the man whose hair was unruly, “Blame Binance — I was just doing my duty!” “I failed! I’m sorry! It wasn’t my fault!” “But seriously — what did you expect ...
Former Alameda CEO confirms firm borrowed billions from FTX customer deposits as part of plea deal
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, said as part of her plea deal that she was aware FTX funds had been made available for the venture capital firm’s investments. In a transcript of proceedings for her plea deal in the Southern District of New York released on Dec. 23, Ellison acknowledged the financial ties between FTX and Alameda at the center of prosecutors’ case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the former Alameda CEO, Alameda had access to a “borrowing facility” through FTX from 2019 to 2022. “I understood that FTX executives had implemented special settings on Alameda’s FTX.com account that permitted Alameda to maintain negative balances in various fiat currencies and crypto currencies,” said Ellison. “In practical terms, this arrangement permit...
Sam Bankman-Fried found ‘chilling’ in JFK airport lounge on $250M bail bond
The momentary arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) can be attributed to the efforts taken by the crypto community to aid investigations and track down the whereabouts of the infamous entrepreneur. While SBF eventually escaped prison time via a $250 million bail bond, the community continues to monitor his every move publicly. Just three days after being released on a personal recognizance bond, a crypto community member allegedly spotted SBF “chilling” in a John F. Kennedy International Airport lounge. The supporting images were shared on Twitter by @litcapital, which shows SBF sitting on a lounge chair with access to a laptop and mobile phone. Sam Bankman-Fried found at the JFK airport lounge. Source: Twitter Based on the pictures, other community members confirmed that SBF’s ...
FTX paid $12M retainer to a New York law firm before bankruptcy filing
Defunct crypto exchange FTX paid a retainer of $12 million to bankruptcy lawyers as security for payment of its fees and expenses amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, shows a court filing dated Dec. 21. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (S&C), a law firm headquartered in New York City, received $12 million from West Realm Shires Services Inc. on behalf of FTX for legal services. In addition, the filing confirmed that over the past 90 days, i.e., since Aug. 26, 2022, FTX paid nearly $3.5 million to S&C. Snippet of the court filing revealing FTX’s historical payments to S&C law firm. Source: aboutblaw.com Based on the information provided, FTX paid at least $15.5 million to avail and retain the legal services of S&C. The filing further revealed that S&C currently ...
Judge pulls out of SBF-FTX case citing husband’s law firm’s advisory link
The ongoing legal proceedings around former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) took a new turn as District Judge Ronnie Abrams withdrew her participation from the case. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rescued itself from the FTX case after revealing that a law firm — which employs Abrams’ husband as a partner — had advised the crypto exchange in 2021. In a Dec. 23 filing, Judge Abrams revealed that her husband, Greg Andres, is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a law firm where he has been employed since June 2019. Additionally, it was highlighted that the law firm had advised FTX in 2021. Abrams also stated that the law firm represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and SBF in other legal proceedings. “My husband has had no involvement i...
SBF received special treatment inside Bahamian jail: Report
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was remanded to the notorious Fox Hill Prison in Nassau, Bahamas, pending an investigation into the collapse of his exchange, had a different experience than many other prisoners. According to the Financial Times, Bankman-Fried was held in the sickbay where he had access to a toilet, running water, a TV, local newspapers, crossword puzzles, and many other perks, including vegan food. Anonymous prison officials disclosed that the former CEO spent his days watching the news and reading articles about himself. SBF’s prison experience appears to have been very different from what many other prisoners endure in their overcrowded, poorly ventilated, rat-infested prison cells, where they are forced to sleep on the floor using makeshift cards. Unlike oth...
Alameda’s Caroline Ellison and FTX’s Gary Wang hit with additional fraud charges
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have hit former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX co-founder Gary Wang with fresh fraud charges. The new charges from the SEC and CFTC come as the pair plead guilty to federal fraud charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier on Dec. 22. SEC states that Ellison and Wang were charged for their role in the “multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX,” with the SEC also investigating whether other securities laws were violated as well. The SEC alleges that Ellison, under the direction of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, furthered the scheme by manipulating the price of FTX Token (FTT), which is described as a crypto security toke...
Sam Bankman-Fried is one step closer to US extradition: Report
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been in the custody of Bahamian authorities, faces extradition to the United States following a hearing. According to reports, Bankman-Fried appeared in a hearing of The Bahamas Magistrate Court on Dec. 21 — the third since his arrest — where he waived his right to a formal extradition process that could have taken weeks. Officials from the U.S. Embassy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Marshals Service were reportedly in attendance to facilitate Bankman-Fried’s handover, to which he had first signed papers on Dec. 20. Reuters reported that SBF’s legal team said the former CEO was “anxious to leave” The Bahamas. Jerome Roberts, on Bankman-Fried’s legal team, reportedly heard SBF say on Dec. 19 his decision...
SBF signs extradition papers, set to return to face charges in the US
Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly signed papers on Dec. 20 that will soon see him handed over to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and flown to the United States to face criminal charges. The move was expected, as Bankman-Fried was reported to have agreed in principle to being extradited to the U.S. earlier this week on Dec. 19, despite earlier reports indicating he wanted to see the indictment against him fir ABC News reported the development that Bankman-Fried signed extradition papers on Dec. 20 citing The Bahamas’ acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare. A Dec. 21 report from Bloomberg said the exchange founder signed surrender documents on Dec. 20 citing Cleare, with another set of papers waiving h...
SBF prosecutors reportedly dig into donations made to top US Democrats
The prosecutors investigating former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) have reportedly reached out to top members of the Democratic Party demanding information about the political donations made by the entrepreneur. Democratic members from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries were contacted by SBF prosecutors for information to aid their ongoing investigations, according to a New York Times report. The United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York sent an email to the Democratic Party elections lawyer Marc Elias, asking for details on donations made by SBF. Similar emails were sent over to other members of the Democratic and Republican parties. The Royal Bahamas police arrested ...
Sam Bankman-Fried seeks to reverse decision on contesting extradition: Report
Sam Bankman-Fried, former FTX CEO, has reportedly reconsidered his earlier decision to contest extradition and is expected to appear in court in the Bahamas on Dec. 19 to seek a reversal, Reuters reported on Dec. 17 citing a person familiar with the matter. By consenting to extradition, Bankman-Fried would be able to appear in a United States court. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers and lenders, securities fraud, commodities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the campaign finance law. The move follows the Bankman-Fried’s bail denial on Dec. 13 due to the “risk of flight”. The former CEO’s lawyers argued that SBF does not possess a criminal record and was suffering from depression and i...
Democrats to reportedly return over $1M of SBF’s funding to FTX victims
Following the arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), three prominent Democratic groups have reportedly decided to return over $1 million to investors that lost their funds due to misappropriation. On Dec. 16, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) pledged to return SBF’s political donations after the entrepreneur was charged with eight counts of financial crimes. A DNC spokesperson reportedly confirmed this decision when speaking to a media outlet, the Verge: “Given the allegations around potential campaign finance violations by Bankman-Fried, we are setting aside funds in order to return the $815,000 in contributions since 2020. We will return as soon as we receive p...
