Disgraced ‘crypto king’ Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250m bail – the largest in pre-trial history
Disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on a $250m (£208m) bond package as he awaits fraud charges – the largest ever pretrial bond in history.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have accused him of stealing billions of dollars of customer’s money to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
In the space of a month, Bankman-Fried’s star-studded £21bn cryptocurrency empire collapsed and he has been charged with defrauding investors in the US.
FTX was once one of the world’s biggest digital currency exchanges, valued at $32bn, but ended up filing for bankruptcy protection in just three days.
Bankman-Fried oversaw a spectacular implosion that – almost exactly a month later – saw him arrested in The Bahamas.
He was not asked to enter a plea on Thursday. He has previously acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability.
His defence lawyer, Mark Cohen, declined to comment after the hearing in the Manhattan federal court.
His arrest in The Bahamas, where he lived and where FTX is based, cemented the one-time billionaire’s spectacular fall from grace.
Cohen said he agreed with prosecutors’ proposed bail conditions.
He noted that his parents – both Stanford Law School professors – would co-sign the bond and post the equity in their
home as assurance for Bankman-Fried’s return to court.
“My client remained where he was, he made no effort to flee,” Cohen said.
Following the agreement of the bond, Bankman-Fried was seen leaving the court and entering a car.
Bankman-Fried leaving court
‘Impossible to hide’
Wearing a grey suit and leg restraints, Bankman-Fried sat flanked by his lawyers and nodded when the judge informed him that if he fails to appear in court, a warrant would be issued for his arrest.
He spoke only when asked by Gorenstein whether he understood the conditions of his release, and that he could be charged with an additional crime if he fails to show up to court.
“Yes I do,” Bankman-Fried replied.
His next court date has been set as 3 January 2023. Bankman-Fried also faces electronic monitoring and a ban on opening new lines of credit or businesses.
He said Bankman-Fried had “achieved sufficient notoriety that it would be impossible” for him to hide without being recognised or engage in further financial schemes.
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FTX arrest: How did we get here?
Down to his ‘last $100,000’
Concerns about the co-mingling of funds between FTX and Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund first became apparent in November and led to a flurry of customer withdrawals.
On 11 November, the former “crypto king”, as many in the media have labelled him, said he was down to his last $100,000.
Just hours after Bankman-Fried’s plane from The Bahamas took off, Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in
Manhattan, announced that two of Bankman-Fried’s closest associates – former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang – had pleaded guilty and were cooperating with prosecutors.
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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