Bankman-Fried out on $250 million bail, agrees to home detention

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried can be released on a $250 million bail and placed on home detention as he awaits trial in a sprawling fraud case, a New York judge ruled on Thursday.

At the request of prosecutors, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein agreed to the bond price and said Bankman-Fried can reside at his parent’s home in Palo Alto, Calif., ahead of the trial, according to The Associated Press.

Bankman-Fried, 30, is expected to be freed on Thursday. He will wear an electronic monitoring bracelet as part of the deal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos told the judge an important reason for allowing Bankman-Fried out on bail was that he agreed to be extradited from the Bahamas on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in the Bahamas earlier this month and has been in jail there before his extradition Wednesday night, faces several charges at trial, including campaign finance violations, money laundering and wire fraud.

U.S. prosecutors charge that Bankman-Fried diverted customer funds from FTX and used them for investments at his private firm, Alameda Research. He is accused of defrauding billions of dollars out of investors since the spring of 2019.

On Wednesday night, U.S. attorneys in New York announced that two former senior executives with FTX had pleaded guilty to fraud charges and would cooperate in the case.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, a co-founder of FTX and a former chief technology officer, are accused of facilitating a scheme at the direction of Bankman-Fried to defraud investors.

The collapse of FTX has led to congressional hearings and a class-action lawsuit from former investors against the cryptocurrency exchange.

FTX filed for bankruptcy last month and is under the management of a restructuring officer during the proceedings.