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Sam Bankman-Fried has been extradited to the US from The Bahamas as he faces criminal charges relating to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Authorities in the Bahamas said the FTX founder had waived his right to challenge the extradition and Bankman-Fried was witnessed leaving a magistrate court in Nasssau in a dark SUV.

According to Reuters, a plane carrying the former chief executive departed the Bahamas from a private airfield by Nassau’s airport.

Bankman-Fried is due to land at Westchester County Airport in New York and will likely appear in front of a US judge later on Thursday.

It comes after two of his associates pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the FTX collapse.

Carolyn Ellison, former chief executive of Alameda Research – a trading firm started by Bankman-Fried – and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX, pleaded guilty to charged “related to their role sin the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse”, US Attorney Damian Williams said.

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Bankman-Fried appeared in court in Nassau on Wednesday and did not contest his extradition

Bankman-Fried had earlier 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.

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His lawyer told the judge that his client was “anxious to leave”.

The hearing was adjourned after the statements.

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.

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Woman and three teenagers arrested over M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks

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Woman and three teenagers arrested over M&S, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks

Four people have been arrested by police investigating cyber attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods.

A 20-year-old woman and two males, both aged 19, and a male aged 17, were detained in London and the West Midlands this morning as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation.

They were arrested at their homes on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

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Electronic devices were seized from the suspects and are currently being analysed by forensic experts.

M&S halted online orders, and shelves were empty in shops after the cyber attack on the retailer earlier this year.

The initial hack into the retailer’s systems took place in April through “sophisticated impersonation” involving a third party.

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Disruption is expected to continue at the retailer until the end of this month.

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Mickey Carroll in May answered why M&S cyber attack was so bad.

The Co-op and Harrods were also subsequently targeted by hackers.

Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National cybercrime unit described the arrests as a “significant step” in their investigation, which remains “one of the Agency’s highest priorities”.

He added: “…our work continues, alongside partners in the UK and overseas, to ensure those responsible are identified and brought to justice.”

The National Crime Agency is keen to “signal” to “future victims” the “importance of seeking support and engaging with law enforcement”, stating that “the NCA and policing are here to help”.

The NCA has also thanked M&S, Co-op and Harrods for their support in their investigations.

The arrests, which took place early on Thursday morning, were supported by officers from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.

Earlier this week, the chairman of M&S told MPs that the hack had been “traumatic” and like an “out-of-body experience”.

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Archie Norman, however, refused to be drawn on whether the retailer had paid any ransom.

“We are not discussing any of the details of our interaction with the threat actor, including this subject, but that subject is fully shared with the NCA,” he said.

It is estimated that the cyber attack will cost M&S up to £300m this year.

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Days after M&S was attacked, the Co-op was targeted and forced to shut down some internal systems.

Harrods was then hacked, and also had to shut some systems despite its website and shops continuing to operate.

Of those arrested, a 17-year-old British male and a 19-year-old Latvian male were from the West Midlands.

A 19-year-old man was from London and a 20-year-old woman from Staffordshire.

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US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

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US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

A New York-listed company with a valuation of more than $21bn is to snap up Space NK, the British high street beauty chain.

Sky News has learnt that Ulta Beauty, which operates close to 1,500 stores, is on the verge of a deal to buy Space NK from existing owner Manzanita Capital.

Ulta Beauty is understood to have registered an acquisition vehicle at Companies House in recent weeks.

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The exact price being paid by Ulta was unclear on Thursday morning, although one source said it was likely to be well in excess of £300m.

Manzanita Capital, a private investment firm, engaged bankers at Raymond James to oversee an auction in April 2024.

The firm has owned Space NK for more than 20 years.

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Manzanita has also owned the French perfume house Diptyque and Susanne Kaufmann, an Austrian luxury skincare brand.

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Founded in 1993 by Nicky Kinnaird, Space NK – which is named after her initials – trades from dozens of stores and employs more than 1,000 people.

It specialises in high-end skincare and cosmetics products.

Manzanita previously explored a sale of Space NK in 2018, hiring Goldman Sachs to handle a strategic review, but opted not to proceed with a deal.

None of Ulta, Manzanita, Space NK and Raymond James could be reached for comment.

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Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

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Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Royal Mail is to be allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, under a series of reforms proposed by the communications regulator.

From 28 July, Royal Mail will also be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.

The post will still be delivered within three working days of collection from Monday to Friday.

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The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom after a consultation was announced in 2024, and the scale back was proposed early this year.

Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to meet the so-called universal service obligation to deliver post within set periods of time.

Those delivery targets are now being revised downwards.

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Rather than having to have 93% of first-class mail delivered the next day, 90% will be legally allowed.

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The sale of Royal Mail was approved in December

The target for second-class mail deliveries will be lowered from 98.5% to arrive within three working days to 95%.

A review of stamp prices has also been announced by Ofcom amid concerns over affordability, with a consultation set to be launched next year.

It’s good news for Royal Mail and its new owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes will bring savings of between £250m and £425m.

A welcome change?

Unsurprisingly, the company welcomed the announcement.

“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” said Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services.

“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”

Citizens Advice, however, doubted whether services would improve as a result of the changes.

“Today, Ofcom missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change,” said Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice.

“Pushing ahead with plans to slash services and relax delivery targets in the name of savings won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable or improve standards.”

Acknowledging long delays “where letters have taken weeks to arrive”, Ofcom said it set Royal Mail new enforceable targets so 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.

Changing habits

Less than a third of letters are sent now than 20 years ago, and it is forecast to fall to about a fifth of the letters previously sent.

According to Ofcom research, people want reliability and affordability more than speedy delivery.

Royal Mail has been loss-making in recent years as revenues fell.

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In response to Ofcom’s changes, a government spokesperson said: “The public expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving on time across the country without it costing the earth. With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.

“We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK”.

Ofcom said it has told Royal Mail to hold regular meetings with consumer bodies and industry groups to hear their experiences implementing the changes.

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