FTX co-founder
Sam Bankman-Fried
is planning to consent to extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Bankman-Fried has been in custody in the Bahamas since he was arrested on Monday in connection with a slate of U.S. criminal charges, which were unsealed a day later. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged Mr. Bankman-Fried with fraud and money-laundering offenses, alleging he defrauded customers, lenders and investors. They also alleged he violated campaign-finance rules by making illegal political contributions.
Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal plans are still in flux and could change in the coming days depending on developments surrounding his case, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
Lawyers for Mr. Bankman-Fried didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
Details about the conditions of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s custody have been sparse in recent days. He has been detained at a facility in Nassau known as Fox Hill Prison that has faced criticism for its conditions in the past.
Mr. Bankman-Fried’s team had delivered meals that met his dietary needs, but as of Friday weren’t sure whether he had received them, another person familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Bankman-Fried’s case in Manhattan has already been assigned to U.S. District Judge
Ronnie Abrams.
If and when he is transferred from the Bahamas to the U.S., he would be expected to make an initial court appearance shortly thereafter, where the charges against him could be read and he may enter a plea. Mr. Bankman-Fried could also make a request for bail.
His plans to agree to extradition were reported earlier by Reuters.
Separate from the criminal charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Mr. Bankman-Fried in a civil lawsuit of diverting customer funds since FTX was founded to support Alameda Research, an affiliated trading firm, and to make venture investments, real-estate purchases and political donations. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit Tuesday linking his allegedly fraudulent conduct at Alameda and FTX to markets that the CFTC regulates.
Before his arrest, Mr. Bankman-Fried had been scheduled to appear virtually before Congress last Tuesday.
—Corinne Ramey contributed to this article.
Write to Alexander Saeedy at alexander.saeedy@wsj.com, Justin Baer at justin.baer@wsj.com and James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com
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