The FTX co-founder boarded a small white plane at a private airport in Nassau in the custody of US agents and took off just before 7.45pm local time.
Bankman-Fried is expected to land near New York City, where federal prosecutors last week unsealed an eight-count indictment against him that could put him behind bars for dozens of years.
His departure marks the end of a particularly chaotic chapter in the FTX bankruptcy saga. Bankman-Fried was arrested last week in his $30-million penthouse by Bahamian authorities at the request of the US officials.
Since being denied bail at an initial Bahamas court hearing last week, Bankman-Fried was held in a correctional facility on the outskirts of Nassau known as Fox Hill. The notorious prison is a far cry from the luxury property where he’d lived after setting up the Bahamas as FTX’s headquarters.
Read More: Bankman-Fried’s island haven draws scrutiny After FTX demise
Once back in the US, he’s likely to be arraigned within hours and his lawyers may present a case for him being granted bail.
A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on any conversations that his legal team may be having with prosecutors.
Co-operating
Two top associates of Bankman-Fried have pleaded guilty to criminal charges and are cooperating with US prosecutors leading the investigation into FTX’s collapse.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement on Wednesday night that Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang had been charged “in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse”.
“Both Ms Ellison and Mr Wang have pleaded guilty to those charges and they are both cooperating with the Southern District of New York,” Williams said in the video statement. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission also announced separate lawsuits against Wang and Ellison.
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on U.S. v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and Gary Wang pic.twitter.com/u1y4cs3Koz
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 22, 2022
“Let me reiterate a call I made last week,” Williams said. “If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”
The SEC alleged Ellison and Wang participated in a multiyear scheme to defraud FTX investors. Between 2019 and 2022 Ellison – at the direction of Bankman-Fried – manipulated the price of FTX’s native token FTT by purchasing large quantities in the open market, according to the SEC complaint. The agency also alleged that Ellison and Wang knew or should have known Bankman-Fried was falsely touting FTX as a safe crypto trading platform, while at the same time improperly transferring customer funds from FTX to Alameda.
The SEC said Ellison and Wang are co-operating with its ongoing investigation into other potential individuals or entities tied to the misconduct at FTX.
The CFTC’s lawsuit, which also alleges fraud, accused Ellison of directing Alameda to use billions of dollars of FTX funds, including customer funds, for trades on other crypto exchanges and to pay for high-risk investments. According to a CFTC news release, Wang “created features in the code underlying the FTX trading platform that allowed Alameda to maintain an essentially unlimited line of credit on FTX”. The CFTC said the two former executives didn’t contest their liability on the CFTC’s claims. BM/DM
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