His legal team is working out the details, bringing Bankman-Fried that much closer to being transferred to U.S. custody from his current imprisonment in the Bahamas, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday (Dec. 19), citing a person familiar with the matter.
The team hopes to have a new hearing on Tuesday (Dec. 20), according to the report.
This follows a “chaotic” court hearing held Monday and a phone call between Bankman-Fried, his lawyer in the Bahamas and his legal team in the U.S., the report said.
As PYMNTS has reported, the Monday court hearing saw confusion from the start, with Bankman-Fried’s lawyer telling the court he was not aware of his client’s plans, Bankman-Fried wanting to read his indictment before making a decision regarding extradition and the hearing being adjourned with no ruling being given.
Just two days earlier, on Saturday (Dec. 17), it had been reported that Bankman-Fried would not fight extradition to the U.S.
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On Tuesday (Dec. 13), he was denied bail in the Bahamas while awaiting an extradition effort to return him to the U.S.
While Bankman-Fried had requested bail be set at $250,000 during his first court appearance after his Dec. 12 arrest, the presiding judge rejected that request and ordered that he be sent to prison.
During that appearance, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said he would fight extradition to the U.S.
In the U.S., Bankman-Fried faces charges brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
A federal indictment Dec. 12 revealed that he is being charged by the DOJ with eight counts that range from wire fraud to various conspiracy counts. If convicted, Bankman-Fried faces substantial jail time, as wire fraud sentences alone can run up to 20 years.
Separately, a civil complaint from the SEC charged him with two counts of civil securities fraud and alleged that Bankman-Fried and FTX’s crypto empire was fraudulent “from the start” — going back to May 2019.
The CFTC has charged him and FTX with two counts of violating antifraud provisions in the Commodity Exchange Act. It is requesting a juried trial.
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