Bankrupt FTX exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried aka SBF has been denied the bail he requested by Bahamas Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt.
Initially, Bankman-Fried’s counsel requested that the judge take into account releasing him on a $250,000 bail since they said he needed to be able to routinely take medication.
In his testimony, Bankman-Fried revealed that he takes 10 mg of Adderall every four hours in addition to Emsam patches for depression.
According to Bahamas prosecutors, granting SBF bail would violate a treaty with the United States that mandates that suspects be detained while extradition procedures are ongoing.
Bankman-Fried informed the judge that he would not give up the right to contest the extradition request and hinted that he would try to stay in the Bahamas.
SBF’s lawyer Jerome Roberts asserted that Bankman-Fried was not a flight risk by pointing out that he owned property in the Bahamas, had his passport for at least three weeks prior to his detention, and was free to leave the nation at any moment.
In the end, Judge Ferguson-Pratt opted against granting Bankman-Fried’s request for bail, telling the court that she didn’t think his flat or the possibility of losing a monetary bond would deter him from escaping.
“I am of the view that the risk of flight is so great that Mr. Bankman-Fried ought to be remanded to custody,” Ferguson-Pratt noted.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government. The arrest came a day ahead of SBF’s scheduled appearance before U.S. lawmakers, where he was planning to give testimony via a video link.
The US Department of Justice, CFTC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried. Even the US SEC charged SBF with defrauding FTX investors by orchestrating a multi-year scam.
The extradition hearing for Bankman-Fried is scheduled for February 8, 2023, and the court ordered that SBF be detained at the Bahamas Department of Corrections until that date.
