News Desk
ISLAMABAD/ NEW YORK: FTX crypto exchange owner Sam Bankman-Fried, who was earlier taken into custody for defrauding customers before the collapse of his bankrupt firm, was released on a surety bond of $250 million on Thursday.
Sam Bankman-Fried awaits trial
Bankman-Fried, who awaits trial over the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, was accused by federal prosecutors in Manhattan of minting billions of dollars in customer funds to make up for losses at his Alameda Reserch hedge fund, according to Reuters.
Bankman-Fried had not been asked to enter a plea on Thursday as he claimed that he did not believe he has criminal liability. His lawyer Mark Cohen declined to comment after the hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein set the next court date for Bankman-Fried for January 3, 2023 before US District Judge Ronny Abrams, who would handle the case.
Bankman-Fried, who founded FTX in 2019, saw the value of his exchange company to some $32 billion earlier this year, is a graduated of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an influential donor during US political rallies and campaigns.
After granting the FTX founder pretrial release, Gorenstein said that Bankman-Fried had gained sufficient notoriety that it would be difficult for him to engage in financial schemes in the furture or to hide without being recognised.
After his court appearance, he was surrounded by photographers as he left the lower Manhattan courtroom and entered a black SUV. Bankman-Fried sported facial stubble and a gray suit, a far cry for the shorts and T-shirt he had become notorious for wearing in public appearances while running FTX.
The Bahamas police arrested collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday last.
The founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which declared bankruptcy, was arrested for financial offences against laws in the US and The Bahamas.
Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested a day before he testified before US Congress about the abrupt failure of the largest cryptocurrency exchange company last month.
