SBF is being held in the Fox Hill Prison Infirmary.
Bankman-Fried was taken into custody Monday night after prosecutors in the United States alerted the Royal Bahamas Police Force to a sealed indictment. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment early Tuesday, announcing that they are charging the former FTX CEO with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and campaign breach, among others.
“A month ago FTX, one of the largest exchanges in the world, collapsed and destroyed billions of dollars in customer value, and every day for a month the seasoned prosecutors in this office and our [FBI] partners, [the Securities and Exchange Commission] and [the Commodity Futures Trading Commission] have been working around the clock to find out what happened so they can start the process of seeking justice,” attorney Damian Williams said on Tuesday afternoon, during a press conference.
After a first request for bail was denied, Sam Bankman-Fried reiterated his request, hoping to return home, pending the hearing that must decide on his extradition to the United States. Meanwhile, SBF is being held in the Fox Hill prison infirmary and is said to be “in good spirits”.
Sam Bankman-Fried Asks for Bail
Last Tuesday, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was denied a first request for bail by Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt. According to Reuters, SBF later reiterated a new request, filed on Thursday.
The former general director of FTX thus hopes to return home, awaiting the hearing on February 8th, who must decide whether or not to extradite him to the United States. Remember that you face up to 115 years in prison, given the eight charges against you.
Therefore, the Supreme Court of the Bahamas must consider Sam Bankman-Fried’s release request on January 17th. Pending the verdict, therefore, the person in question remains in pretrial detention at the Bahamas Department of Corrections in Fox Hill.
SBF Is “In a Good Mood”
According to Doan Cleare, the acting corrections commissioner, SBF was “in a good mood”.
“Mister. Fried is staying in the infirmary’s maximum security unit, getting his medication on time. The only physical visitors allowed at this time are their attorneys, as well as US Embassy staff. Everything else will be done by videoconference. He is with five other inmates in a dormitory.”
Regarding drugs, SBF is known to take various treatments, including a daily Emsam patch containing selegiline, a molecule derived from methamphetamine used to combat Parkinson’s disease or depression in some countries, as is his case.
So all of this is just the beginning of a long legal process in which FTX victims will demand answers and reparations.
By Audy Castaneda
