The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Court Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

DISGRACED former FTX CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried was denied bail by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) until his next court appearance in February.

His arraignment came after the embattled cryptocurrency businessman was issued several fraud related charges in the United States including wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud. He also faces a warrant from the Southern District of New York, a federal warrant as well as a diplomatic note requesting arrest provisionally.

Bankman-Fried was arrested on Monday night following joint investigations by Bahamian and US authorities following allegations of the former FTX CEO misappropriating large sums of customer assets in crypto exchanges.

It marks a swift and dizzying fall from grace for the 30-year-old who until last month headed what was once one of the most powerful crypto firms in the world.

In his court appearance before Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt, the former billionaire was represented by attorney Jerome Roberts assisted by Crystal Rolle, KC, and Kendria Dorsett. Franklyn Williams was the lead prosecutor, assisted by Cordell Frazer.

Before proceedings got underway, Bankman-Fried’s counsel asked that his client be allowed to take his antidepressant medication, Ensam, which he wasn’t able to during his arrest. The court acceded to the request.

After lengthy discussions between attorneys Williams and Roberts as to whether the chief magistrate had the jurisdiction to grant bail in compliance with the Extradition Act she ruled that she was within her rights to do so.

Bankman-Fried said he would not waive his right to an extradition hearing.

During his bail application Mr Roberts submitted that his young client is a businessman and called him a “leading” player in the cryptocurrency industry. He went on to say that Bankman-Fried has no priors or pending matters in other jurisdictions.

In acknowledging what he called the “explosion” of FTX in November, Mr Roberts told the court that Bankman-Fried was urged to return to America by his US attorneys when the matter of extradition arose. However he claimed that his client elected to remain in The Bahamas to try and fix things for local customers and said that his information to liquidators here has proved helpful to them.

In addition to expanding on the list of medications his client is to take to include Zyrtec and Adderall for allergies and attention deficit disorder respectively, the attorney said that prisoners in BDCS are not routinely giving their medication as prescribed or at all.

Mr Roberts ended its bail application by saying that his client is not likely to abscond due to his actions and investments in the country. When the chief magistrate pointed out that the lawyer did not expand on his client’s actions here, he responded that despite high media and public scrutiny, Bankman-Fried remained in the country. Mr Roberts further submitted that his client would have no objection to conditions including the fitting of a monitoring device, curfew, police sign in or cash bail up to $250,000. He closed by stating his belief that his client was a fit candidate for bail and saying that his legal team is “prepared to fight.”

Meanwhile Mr Williams countered that a portion of Bankman-Fried’s medications are over the counter items stating that is not sound grounds for bail. Mr Williams further argued that if fraud charges are proven, Bankman-Fried’s property in the country would be subject to forfeiture. He further stated that the accused has declined to return to the US since FTXs implosion and says that the defendant has evaded questions on if he plans to return to the US by the media.

After suggesting that Bankman-Fried had illicitly transferred $300 million from FTX to his own private holdings just prior to its bankruptcy, Mr Williams stated that Bankman-Fried has sufficient means to be a flight risk. He told the magistrate that since Bankman-Fried has access to private planes it is possible for him to travel to a country which does not have an extradition treaty.

In response, the accused’s counsel denied these misconduct allegations.

Following a brief recess late yesterday afternoon, during which Bankman-Fried’s remaining medication was retrieved from his Albany residence, the chief magistrate formally denied his bail application.

This was on the grounds that due to his substantial resources the chief magistrate was not satisfied that there were any conditions she could impose that would mitigate the defendant’s flight risk.

As such, the former CEO was remanded to BDCS with the court noting that the defendant is to be issued his medication and to be seen by a prison physician.

Before being taken into remand, Bankman-Fried was allowed a brief moment with his family members including his parents.

He is to return to court for his extradition hearing on February 8, 2023 before Magistrate Shaka Serville.