According to US media reports, the founder of the insolvent crypto exchange FTX was extradited to the United States and arrived there on Thursday morning. The Guardian reported that Sam Bankman-Fried took off from the Bahamas on Wednesday evening and landed at an airfield north of New York. A court spokeswoman told the German Press Agency that Bankman-Fried is expected to appear before the Southern District Court in New York on Thursday afternoon (local time).

The 30-year-old has waived his right to contest the extradition, the Attorney General of the Caribbean state announced on Wednesday. Bankman-Fried was arrested on December 12 at the request of US authorities in the Bahamas. In the United States, he faces a long prison sentence.

charge of fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the financial manager of fraud. The agency accuses Bankman-Fried of misleading investors with false promises and embezzling their funds. It's about more than 1.8 billion US dollars (more than 1.7 billion euros).

US Attorneys said on Wednesday that two people close to Bankman-Fried had pleaded guilty to charges "related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to the collapse of FTX." One of the two is said to be Gary Wang, with whom Bankman-Fried founded the company in 2019.

Bankman-Fried's FTX group had collapsed due to huge withdrawals of funds related to liquidity concerns. Billions in customer funds could not be paid out. Bankman-Fried, who is only called SBF in the crypto industry, was considered a crypto prodigy and just a few months ago adorned the front pages of US business publications such as "Fortune".

Statement Attorney General Bahamas Guardian