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Sam Bankman-Fried pictured arriving at courthouse in Bahamas, where his extradition to the US could be decided

Sam Bankman-Fried arriving in court in the Bahamas on Monday, December 19.
  • It's still not certain if Sam Bankman-Fried will submit to an extradition to be brought to the US.
  • He's facing serious wire fraud and conspiracy charges in New York federal court.
  • He's been held in a Bahamian prison known for tough conditions since his arrest this month.

Sam Bankman-Fried was photographed arriving to a court appearance in the Bahamas on Monday as questions remain about whether he is willing to be extradited to the US after all.

There are indications that he may concede to extradition by US authorities, Bloomberg reported. But a hearing on Monday morning has so far not confirmed either way, as Bankman-Fried's own lawyer told the court that he didn't expect the former FTX CEO to be there, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bankman-Fried previously told a magistrate judge in the Bahamas that he wanted to keep the option open to fight being brought to the US where he's facing criminal charges. He has spent roughly the past week since his arrest at a Bahamian prison known for its rough conditions.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on Monday.

Federal prosecutors in the US have hit Bankman-Fried with 8 counts, including for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws.

US Attorney Damian Williams, who heads the federal prosecutors' office in Manhattan that brought the criminal indictment, alleged in a press conference earlier this month that Bankman-Fried's political contributions were really bankrolled by jilted customers.

Political organizations that have been the beneficiaries of Bankman-Fried's apparent largesse include Democratic groups like House Majority PAC and The Protect Our Future PAC, which are likely to face lawsuits through the FTX bankruptcy to reclaim the tainted donations.

"These contributions were disguised to look like they were coming from wealthy co-conspirators when, in fact, the contributions were funded by Alameda research with stolen customer money," Williams said at the conference.

"And all of this dirty money was used in service of Bankman-Fried's desire to buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington," he said.

The brief indictment against Bankman-Fried targeted just him, and laid the foundation to extradite him from the Bahamas.

But given the conspiracy charges indicating the presence of others who acted with Bankman-Fried on the alleged scheme, prosecutors could be investigating those once in his orbit, like ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who used to head up Bankman-Fried's separate company Alameda Research.

Prosecutors' ongoing inquiry could lead to potentially more detailed charges about other co-conspirators.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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By: [email protected] (Sindhu Sundar)
Title: Sam Bankman-Fried pictured arriving at courthouse in Bahamas, where his extradition to the US could be decided
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-picture-bahamas-courthouse-extradition-question-2022-12
Published Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2022 17:34:33 +0000

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