Onetime crypto-king Samuel Bankman-Fried could be extradited from the Bahamas to New York on Wednesday to stand trial for fraud, a source familiar with his case said Tuesday.
The former head of the FTX group, which was worth some $32 billion before it imploded in November, is planning to appear in Nassau court Wednesday with signed papers agreeing to his extradition, the source told AFP.
After that Bankman-Fried could be quickly loaded on an aircraft and sent to the United States, the source said.
The 30-year-old one-time digital currency billionaire was arrested at his Nassau apartment on December 12 at the request of federal prosecutors who alleged that he cheated investors in FTX and misused funds that belonged to customers of FTX and its sister trading unit Alameda Research.
He was charged in New York with eight counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and election finance violations.
Separately the SEC accused him of violating securities laws.
Bankman-Fried “was orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire,” US prosecutors said.
After one week in Nassau’s Fox Hill prison, on Monday he appeared in court amid speculation he would have his rights to fight extradition.
But the court session was cut short and he was sent back to the prison after he consulted with his local and US attorneys.