The former co-chief executive of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is reportedly pleading guilty to criminal charges stemming from the firm’s high-profile collapse.
In a new report, anonymous sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg that former FTX executive Ryan Salame is planning on pleading guilty to charges of fraud relating to the downfall of the crypto exchange and illegally donating over $20 million worth of stolen funds to the Republican party.
Salame, who was in charge of FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas, was allegedly acting as a straw donor for disgraced FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The news comes weeks before Sam Bankman-Fried is due to stand trial for allegedly mishandling billions of dollars worth of customer funds and defrauding investors, though it is unclear if Salame will testify against Bankman-Fried, according to the report.
Other members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, such as Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and engineering chief Nishad Singh, have all previously pleaded guilty and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of receiving lenient sentences.
Bankman-Fried’s highly anticipated trial may be pushed back and combined with his previously-scheduled case related to forgery charges in the Bahamas as his attorneys claim that officials failed to give him enough time to review the evidence.
However, it was reported that Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the trial, is considering moving the date but would likely not grant a delay simply because of the sheer volume of evidence. If convicted of his charges, Bankman-Fried faces decades behind bars.
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