Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on bail for a $250 million bond package pending trial on fraud charges related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, a federal judge said on Thursday. 22).
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in funds from FTX clients to cover losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried was not asked to testify Thursday. He had previously acknowledged flaws in FTX’s risk management, but said he did not believe he had criminal responsibility. His defense attorney, Mark Cohen, declined to comment after the Manhattan federal court hearing.
Prosecutor Nicolas Roos told federal judge Gabriel Gorenstein that the bail package would require Bankman-Fried to surrender his passport and remain under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif. He would also be required to undergo regular mental health treatment and evaluation.
Roos called the package “the biggest pre-trial bail ever”.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested last week in the Bahamas, where he lived and where FTX is headquartered. He left the Caribbean country in FBI custody on Wednesday night (21).
Cohen said he agrees with the bail conditions proposed by the prosecution. He noted that the suspect’s parents – both Stanford Law School professors – would sign the bond and put up their home equity as collateral for Bankman-Fried’s return to court.
“My client stayed where he was, made no attempt to flee,” Cohen said.
Wearing a gray suit and leg restraints, Bankman-Fried sat among his lawyers and nodded when the judge informed him that if he failed to appear in court, a warrant would be issued for his arrest.
He spoke only when Gorenstein asked if he understood the conditions of his release and that he could be charged with yet another crime if he did not appear in court.
“Yes, I know,” replied Bankman-Fried.
Gorenstein has set Bankman-Fried’s next hearing date for January 3, 2023 before U.S. District Judge Ronny Abrams, who will hear the case.
“I will require strict pre-trial supervision,” Gorenstein said, with conditions including electronic monitoring and a ban on opening new lines of credit or businesses.
He said that Bankman-Fried “has achieved enough notoriety that it is impossible” for him to hide unrecognized, or become involved in other financial schemes.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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