Sam Bankman-Fried is on a flight to the US to face a litany of criminal charges tied to his role in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX after days-long legal drama in the Bahamas.
The FTX co-founder boarded a small white plane at a private airport in Nassau in the custody of US agents and took off just before 7:45 p.m. local time.
Bankman-Fried is expected to land near New York City, where federal prosecutors last week unsealed an eight-count indictment against him that could put him behind bars for dozens of years.
His departure marks the end of a particularly chaotic chapter in the FTX bankruptcy saga. Bankman-Fried was arrested last week in his $30 million penthouse by Bahamian authorities at the request of the US officials.
Since being denied bail at an initial Bahamas court hearing last week, Bankman-Fried was held in a correctional facility on the outskirts of Nassau known as Fox Hill. The notorious prison is a far cry from the luxury property where he’d lived after setting up the Bahamas as FTX’s headquarters.
Once back in the US, he’s likely to be arraigned within hours and his lawyers may present a case for him being granted bail. It wasn’t immediately clear at which American airport Bankman-Fried would land.
A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on any conversations that his legal team may be having with prosecutors.
This is a developing story