- Sam is being held at Fox Hill awaiting a US extradition hearing until February 8, 2023.
- Initially, Bankman’s legal team suggested fighting it, but Sam appears to have reversed the decision.
- He can request a bail within 48 hours of SBF’s arrival in the US.
Former cryptocurrency “white knight” Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) appears to have lost the battle with the rodents and maggots at Fox Hill Prison, where he is being held pending extradition hearing on February 8, 2023. His legal team initially wanted to fight his extradition, but the notorious prison seems to have changed SBF’s situation. Sam will no longer challenge the United States’ extradition request.
Sam is expected to appear in the Bahamian court on Monday, where he will reverse his earlier decision to challenge extradition to the United States, where he faces charges of fraud, financial crime and more.
Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, accused of defrauding FTX clients and stealing their funds to make investments for his crypto hedge fund Alameda Research LLC.
SBF will now appear in a US court, where he faces charges of wire fraud, money laundering and campaign finance charges.
Defense attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said that if and when Sam sets foot on US soil, he will most likely be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
At the first hearing in Manhattan, Sam would be asked to plead his case, and then a judge would make a bail decision. Margulis added that such hearings must take place within 48 hours of Bankman’s arrival, but since this is a sensitive case, they can take place sooner.
Prosecutors can argue that Sam poses a risk of absconding and should remain in custody because of the large sum of money involved in the case. The whereabouts of the funds are also unclear.
Commercial defender Michael Weinstein commented:
“My understanding is that if the judge grants a pre-trial release, he would impose very restrictive and onerous conditions.”
Legal experts say any sort of court hearing is more than a year away, citing the enormous complexity of the case.
According to some reports, the court offers relief to the accused; Sam Bankman-Fried could face a 150-year sentence. However, some experts point out how Sam can reduce his prison time.
Now that SBF is waiving extradition…
The only negotiating leverage SBF has to avoid a life sentence…
1) Offer a bigger fish like Tether or @cz_binance
2) Plead a deal soon (plus transfer of more than $1 billion in assets) to save prosecutors’ work.
Then SBF gets 20 years.
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) December 17, 2022
If Sam brings up a bigger fish against the court, say Tether or the CEO of the largest crypto exchange, if this case comes about, then the court’s time will be split and he may get less time.
And if he turns over more than $1 billion in assets to the court to distribute to investors, it will greatly reduce prosecutors’ efforts.
If both of those conditions are met, there’s a chance SBF could face a likely 20-year sentence.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own bank and break away from traditional money exchange systems. She is also fascinated with blockchain technology and how it works.
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