Cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried consents to extradition to US from The Bahamas
Sam Bankman-Fried has consented to be extradited to the US from The Bahamas.
The FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder’s lawyer read an affidavit to a court in Nassau on Wednesday, confirming his client was willing to be flown to New York.
As a result, the 30-year-old tycoon could be flown out as early as Wednesday afternoon local time to face an array of fraud charges.
Bankman-Fried decided to agree to extradition in part out of a “desire to make the relevant customers whole,” according to the affidavit, which is dated 20 December.
Dressed in a suit, Bankman-Fried took to the witness box and told the judge: “Yes, I do wish to waive my right to such formal extradition proceedings.”
His lawyer told the judge that his client was “anxious to leave”.
The hearing was adjourned after the statements.
Bankman-Fried appeared in court in Nassau on Wednesday and did not contest his extradition
Officials with the FBI and the United States Marshals Service – which handles transportation of individuals in US custody – have already arrived in the Bahamian capital according to a person familiar with the matter.
It is currently unclear when Bankman-Fried will depart The Bahamas for New York.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week charged the cryptocurrency mogul with stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer assets to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, in what US Attorney Damian Williams called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.
Bankman-Fried was arrested on a US extradition request last week in The Bahamas, where he lives and FTX is based.
He initially said he would contest extradition, but it was reported over the weekend that he would reverse that decision.
Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability.
His personal wealth is thought to have swelled to $20bn (£16.2bn) at the exchange’s peak, but has since reportedly shrunk to $100,000 (£83,000).
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How FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried went from£21bn empire to being charged with fraud
Wednesday’s hearing followed a confusing sequence of events this week that left the status of Bankman-Fried’s expected extradition unclear.
On Monday, following the news reports he had agreed to be extradited, Bankman-Fried arrived at the courthouse in a black van marked “Corrections” wearing a blue suit jacket and white shirt.
At the hearing, his local defence lawyer, Jerone Roberts, said he was not informed of the purpose of the proceedings.
After a brief recess, Mr Roberts said his client had seen an affidavit outlining the charges against him but wanted access to the full indictment before consenting to extradition.
The proceedings were then adjourned. They had been expected to resume on Tuesday morning, but Bankman-Fried’s legal papers were not filed in time.
Bankman-Fried rode a crypto boom to become a billionaire several times over and an influential US political donor, before FTX’s crash wiped out his wealth and tarnished his reputation.
The collapse was driven by a wave of customer withdrawals amid concerns over co-mingling of funds with Alameda.
The cryptoexchange declared bankruptcy on 11 November with Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO the same day.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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