Bankman-Fried was denied bail Friday after a Bahamian judge ruled that he posed a flight risk.
A federal prosecutor says two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Carolyn Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, a trading firm started by Bankman-Fried, and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX along with Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX's collapse,” US Attorney Damian Williams said Wednesday night.
The guilty pleas were announced as Bankman-Fried was being flown to the US from the Bahamas by US law enforcement to answer charges tied to his role in FTX's failure.
In agreements signed with prosecutors on December 19, Ellison and Wang agreed to plead guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud.
READ MORE: FTX founder agrees to extradition to US - attorney
US prosecutor: Two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried plead guilty to charges related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX pic.twitter.com/m81UdLdNsW
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Bankman-Fried extradited to US
Bahamian authorities said that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been extradited to the United States, where he faces criminal charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
Bahamas' attorney general's office said that Bankman-Fried would be leaving for the United States later Wednesday, noting he had waived his right to challenge the extradition.
Reporters on the scene witnessed Bankman-Fried leaving a Magistrate Court in Nassau in a dark SUV earlier Wednesday.
The vehicle was later seen arriving at a private airfield by Nassau's airport, from which he was expected to be flown to the United States.
He is due to land in New York and will likely appear in front of a US judge on Thursday.
READ MORE: Crypto lender BlockFi files for bankruptcy in FTX collapse ripple effect
“The Bahamas has determined that the provisional arrest and subsequent written consent by (Bankman-Fried) to be extradited without formal extradition proceedings satisfies the requirements of the (extradition treaty between the US and the Bahamas) and our nation’s Extradition Act,” said Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder, in a statement.
Bahamian authorities arrested Bankman-Fried last week at the request of the US government.
US prosecutors allege he played a central role in the rapid collapse of FTX and hid its problems from the public and investors.
READ MORE: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas
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