FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is willing to waive his right to deny extradition to the U.S., according to a lawyer for the fallen cryptocurrency executive.
Bankman-Fried, facing charges in the U.S. after the collapse of his company, is expected to return to court this week to make the decision official, according to his lawyer. Once the decision is made, he would be flown to New York to face federal charges, according to Yahoo News.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas after federal prosecutors in New York filed an eight-count indictment, including allegations of fraud and conspiracy.
At the hearing last week, Bankman-Fried declined to waive his right to challenge extradition to the U.S. but has reversed course and was prepared to waive extradition, according to ABC News.
The path is now set for his transport to the U.S. for prosecution, according to Yahoo News.
Bankman-Fried has been holed up in the medical ward of the Bahamas Fox Hill Prison, known as one of the most notorious prisons in the world. He was denied bail after a judge determined he was too much of a flight risk.
In addition to criminal charges, Bankman-Fried also faces civil lawsuits from the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Customer losses associated with FTX amount to more than $8 billion, according to Gretchen Lowe of the CFTC.
John Ray, the new CEO of FTX, told members of the House Financial Services Committee last week that FTX lacked corporate controls to an extent he had never witnessed, calling the company’s conduct “old-fashioned embezzlement.”
He also called it a “paperless bankruptcy,” according to Fortune.
“I’ve never seen an utter lack of record keeping,” Ray said. “Absolutely no internal controls.”
John Ray previously oversaw the dissolution of Enron 20 years ago, which was one of the largest corporate fraud cases in American history.
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark Cohen, has stated that his client is currently consulting with his legal team and considering his legal options in light of the charges.