Bahamian authorities said on Wednesday 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, The Associated Press reported.
Bahamas's 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 in the day. The vehicle was later seen arriving at a private airfield by Nassau's airport, from which he is 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.
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.
FTX, which had been among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11 in one of the highest-profile crypto blowups after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal.
Bankman-Fried resigned as FTX’s chief executive officer the same day as the bankruptcy filing.
The 30-year-old could potentially spend the rest of his life in jail.