FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried signs US extradition

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried completed his extradition documents on Wednesday and is scheduled to be transported from the Bahamas to the United States, where he faces a series of criminal charges over allegations that he swindled 1.8 investors cheated billions of dollars.

The fallen crypto king said he agreed to the extradition because he wanted to “make the relevant customers safe,” according to court documents — a turnaround after initially saying he would fight the lawsuit.

He arrived at the Nassau Magistrates Court building in the Bahamas around 11:00 am Wednesday and told the judge he was waiving his right to a lengthy extradition hearing.

Bankmann-Fried. will be taken into US custody upon arrival in the States, but it was not immediately clear when he would be flown out of the island nation.

The accused scammer played a key role in the rapid collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, allegedly using investors’ money to fund his hedge fund Alameda Research and buy real estate for himself and his family. He is being charged by the Southern District of New York and faces a maximum of 115 years in prison if convicted.

If Bankman-Fried doesn’t get bail in New York, he’ll likely be locked up in Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial.

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