Sam Bankman-Fried Request for Atonement Release Denied: Sent to Prison

Batik cryptocurrency The request for bail release of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the stock exchange FTX, was rejected by the court.

Bahamas judge said Bankman-Fried should be sent to the Bahamas Penitentiary by February 8, Reuters reported.

Sam Bankman-Fried to Stay in Prison Till February 8

After the decision, images of the prison where Sam Bankman-Fried will stay until at least February 8 were shared on his social media accounts. The prison in question is known for its poor conditions.

The Bahamas magistrate said Bankman-Fried’s risk of absconding was great enough to warrant his detention.

However, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said he was not at risk of escape and should be released on bail. Lawyers had demanded an award of $250,000 as bail.

Lawyers representing the US government argued that Bankman-Fried was likely to escape and should be extradited to the US.

Bankman-Fried, whose crypto money empire, valued at billions of dollars, collapsed, argued in the text he prepared before his arrest that he was not responsible for the events and said that the pressure of his environment was effective in taking the bankruptcy decision.

However, the new CEO of FTX, John Ray, stated that the company was incredibly poorly managed and that he had never encountered a similar situation in his professional life.

The SBF was supposed to testify before Congress today, they would later charge him with a crime, so prosecutors have spared SBF from potentially impeachment. However, the SBF may have already blamed itself enough.

Stefan Rust, CEO of blockchain development company Laguna Labs, said:

“Overall, this is having a very positive impact on the industry because it shows that in the crypto world you can’t afford to steal customers’ money.”

*Not investment advice.