- Sam Bankman-Fried was granted $250 million bail by a Manhattan court on Thursday.
- The bail was granted with strict conditions by Judge Gorenstein.
- According to Nick Roos, the SBF’s bail bond remains the highest pre-trial bond ever.
- SBF, Gary Wang, and Caroline Ellison inflated Alameda FTT holdings and misled investors.
On Thursday, the US Court in Manhattan granted bail of $250 million to embattled FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Notably, the bail was secured as a bond by his parents with the equity in their house, thereby making it possible for SBF to spend the imminent Christmas out of detention.
Meanwhile, the bail, as granted by Judge Gorenstein, comes with strict conditions. One such condition is that the defendant must surrender his passport. Additionally, SBF will be closely monitored while staying at his parent’s house in Palo Alto during the bail period.
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The court also ordered mental health treatment and evaluation for the FTX co-founder, who is reportedly battling depression. Further, he can’t make any financial transaction of more than $1,000 without approval from the government.
Reacting to the development, Mark Cohen, the defense lawyer to SBF, said his client has agreed to the bail term. The bail bond was reportedly signed by the defendant, his parents, and a non-family member. As a result, the parents will be liable for $250 million if SBF escapes.
Describing the implications of SBF fleeing, Michael Backner, a New York criminal defense attorney, said authorities will take everything else, including the bank accounts, IRA accounts, and Stock accounts of his parents.
According to Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos, the bond remains the highest-ever pre-trial bond. Similarly, Ira Judelson, a New York Bail bondsman, said the bond is the largest he has ever heard in his history of doing bonds.
Side Notes on the FTX Saga
Recall that the FTX collapse greatly impacted the sphere, as investors, directly and indirectly, lost billions of their assets. This thus triggered investigations into the saga by regulators across the globe.
A week ago, the Bahamas authorities nabbed the embattled FTX co-founder and extradited him to the United States on Dec.22.
Yesterday, his accomplices, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, were charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the charges, the duo aided SBF in swindling investors using FTX and Alameda.
The US regulator said Ellison, under the directive of SBF, allegedly manipulated the price of FTT, a native token of FTX. Furthermore, Ellison and Wang were accused of using FTT as collateral for loans to Alameda from FTX.
Consequently, the trio made billions of dollars by inflating Alameda FTT holdings and misleading investors.
As per reports, Wang and Ellison have both pleaded guilty to the charges and are cooperating with the regulator. As for SBF, he is still insisting that he has no criminal liability but admitted that his risk-management failures caused the collapse.
On the Flipside
- Since a New York trial is likely more than a year away, and while prosecutors are building their case and the two sides spar over evidence, SBF might be out of jail for a while.
Why You Should Care
In the crypto sphere, the FTX crisis is one of the most talked about events, costing users about $9 billion. There will be a lot of attention paid to the upcoming trial of SBF and how regulators shape laws regarding digital assets.
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