Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of committing one of the biggest frauds in US history while running the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has agreed to be extradited to the US to face a litany of criminal charges, according to latest reports.
Bankman-Fried appeared before the Bahamian magistrate's court on Monday morning sporting freshly sprouted facial hair, but it is unclear whether he was there to contest or agree to his extradition.
SBF initially wanted to fight extradition to the US, but a brief stint in Nassau’s Fox Hill Prison, notorious for poor sanitation and inadequate medical care, may have changed his thoughts on the matter.
According to sources present, the hearing was a muddled affair that the judge dubbed “a waste of time” and sent SBF back to his cell.
At the hearing, his local criminal defence attorney Jerone Roberts told Magistrate Shaka Serville that he did not know why Bankman-Fried was brought to court on Monday morning, reported Reuters.
The confusion surrounding SBF’s extradition is befitting for a former crypto mogul whose former empire still has many questions hovering over it.
If and when he appears before the US courts, SBF will be facing criminal fraud allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that could carry a lifetime sentence.