FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried allowed $250 million bond, house arrest
The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried can post USD 250 million bond and live in his parents' home in California while he awaits trial on charges that he swindled investors and looted customer deposits on his FTX trading platform, a judge said on Thursday.
Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos said in US District Court in Manhattan that Bankman-Fried, 30, perpetrated a fraud of epic proportions. Roos proposed strict bail terms, including a USD 250 million bond and house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California.
An important reason for allowing bail was that Bankman-Fried agreed to waive extradition, Roos said.
Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein agreed to the bond and also approved the house arrest proposal. He also said Bankman-Fried would be required to get an electronic monitoring bracelet before leaving the Manhattan courthouse.
Bankman-Fried wore a suit and tie in court and sat between his attorneys. Two US marshals sat behind him.
Bankman-Fried, arrested in the Bahamas last week, was flown to New York late Wednesday after deciding not to challenge his extradition.
While he was in the air, the US attorney in Manhattan announced that two of Bankman-Fried's closest business associates had also been charged and had secretly pleaded guilty.
Carolyn Ellison, 28, the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried's trading firm, Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, who co-founded FTX, pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud.
US Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that both were cooperating with investigators and had agreed to assist in any prosecution. He warned others who enabled the alleged fraud to come forward.
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