FTX Founder All Set for U.S. Extradition on Wednesday, Signs Documents

During a procedural hearing on Tuesday, December 20, disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried finally agreed to U.S. extradition after signing the extradition papers and documents.

Doan Cleare, the acting commissioner of prisons for the Bahamas, also confirmed SBF signing the documents on Tuesday. As per sources, the extradition will happen later today, Wednesday, where SBF will be accompanied by FBI agents during his move to the United States.

Earlier last week, SBF and his lawyers stated that they would be challenging the extradition move to the U.S. However, it seems that they have ultimately decided to succumb to the pressure and charges. On Wednesday, SBF will sign separate paper at the Magistrate’s Court in Nassau finalising his waiver of rights to fight extradition.

The FTX founder was arrested earlier this month over multiple charges filed against him following the collapse of the crypto exchange. Following his arrest, SBF has been staying at the notorious Fox Hill jail on the outskirts of Nassau. On Wednesday morning, SBF will be first escorted by the Bahamian police from the prison to the court.

However, the sudden agreement by SBF and his lawyers for U.S. extradition is quite surprising. As per the New York Times, SBF’s legal team is currently in talks with federal prosecutors for allowing him to be released on bail if extradited to the U.S.

Sources familiar with the matter said that even if the U.S federal judge grants him permission, it would contain "highly restrictive conditions" including home confinement and electronic monitoring.

The Department of Justice has slapped multiple charges against SBF including finance violations, commodities and securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and much more. If the court finds SBF guilty of all counts, the maximum punishment for the charges would be a 115 years in jail.

The U.S. CFTC and the SEC have filed additional charges against the FTX founder for braking commodity regulators and deceiving his investors.

During Tuesday’s procedural hearings, FTX’s new management also disclosed the exchange’s current financial position. The bankrupt exchange has over $1 billion in identifiable liquid assets. This includes $720 million in cash assets and an additional $500 million held by the U.S. institutions.

During the bankruptcy proceedings, speaking under the oath, FTX’s new chief financial officer, Mary Cilia, said: “We are reaching out to all of those banks and changing the signatories on the accounts so that we can get access to the accounts and move the cash as much as we can to authorized depository institutions”.