Bankman-Fried makes new bail application after losing first request: source

FORMER FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried has made a bail application before The Bahamas Supreme Court, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday (Dec 15), after a magistrate judge on Tuesday rejected the former crypto mogul’s request for bail.

Bankman-Fried was remanded to a Bahamas detention centre after Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt rejected his request to remain at home while he awaits for a hearing on his extradition to the US, where he has been charged with financial crimes.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said the application was made on Thursday.

Bahamas broadcaster Eyewitness News on Thursday reported that the Supreme Court would hear the bail application on Jan 17, without citing sources.

US prosecutors say Bankman-Fried engaged in a scheme to defraud FTX’s customers by misappropriating their deposits to pay for expenses and debts and to make investments on behalf of his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC.

Bankman-Fried amassed a fortune valued over US$20 billion as he rode a cryptocurrency boom to build FTX into one of the world’s largest exchanges before it abruptly collapsed this year. REUTERS