- Former FTX executive has pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts.
- He joins three other former executives who also entered guilty pleas.
- His sentencing is scheduled for March 2024.
Former co-CEO of Bahama-based affiliate FTX Digital Markets, Ryan Salame, has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of criminal charges stemming from the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX in November 2022.
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The news doesn’t surprise many. Salame was reported in December 2022 as the FTX insider who informed Bahamian authorities that SBF’s exchange transferred user funds to Alameda Research to cover the firm’s financial losses.
Guilty of Campaign Finance Violation and Fraud
In the case before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Salame pleaded guilty to one count of a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission by making unlawful political campaign donations and one count of a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business.
“Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
Salame risks facing a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison following his guilty plea. Although he is out on a $1 million bond, Salame has agreed to forfeit $1.5 billion to the U.S. government on top of $6 million in fines.
Further, the former executive has been ordered to pay $5 million to FTX debtors and forfeit his luxurious properties, including two houses in Lenox, Massachusetts, and a 2021 Porsche automobile.
The 4th Executive to Plead Guilty
Salame is not the first former executive of FTX to plead guilty. Others who have entered guilty pleas to varying charges include Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s crypto-investment firm Alameda Research, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh.
Salame is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2024.
Raed how SBF pleaded not guilty ahead of his October trial:
Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Seven Charges
Stay updated on what a former Alameda engineer said about the fall of FTX:
Alameda Insider Spills Beans on Collapse of FTX’s “Well-Intentioned” Plans
