SBF signs extradition papers, set to return to face charges in the US

The FTX founder has reportedly signed on the dotted line, bringing him a step closer to returning to US soil.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly signed papers on Dec. 20 that will soon see him handed over to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and flown to the United States to face criminal charges.

The move was expected, as Bankman-Fried was reported to have agreed in principle to being extradited to the U.S. earlier this week on Dec. 19, despite earlier reports indicating he wanted to see the indictment against him fir

ABC News reported the development that Bankman-Fried signed extradition papers on Dec. 20 citing The Bahamas’ acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare.

A Dec. 21 report from Bloomberg said the exchange founder signed surrender documents on Dec. 20 citing Cleare, with another set of papers waiving his rights to fight extradition to be signed on Dec. 21.

Cointelegraph contacted the acting commissioner’s office for confirmation but did not immediately receive a response.

After the final paper is signed, Bankman-Fried is expected to be whisked away by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to a private airport and transit to the U.S. on a private flight where he faces eight counts in an indictment from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

He faces charges from the Department of Justice relating to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire, commodities and securities fraud, and campaign finance violations.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

The FTX founder faces further charges relating to commodity law violations and defrauding investors from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) respectively.

Not in hospital 

Meanwhile, a Dec. 20 Instagram post from local media outlet Bahamas Press claiming Bankman-Fried was being “rushed” to hospital from prison had made the rounds on social media but was debunked soon after.

Related: SBF’s legal battle still has “a lot to play out,” according to legal commentators

New York Times financial reporter Rob Copeland tweeted that he spoke to the head of the prison who said the exchange founder was eating lunch in the medical bay and that the rumor was false.

There are reports that @SBF_FTX was rushed from his Bahamian prison to the hospital.

These are false, the head of the prison tells me. As a few moments ago, Sam was eating lunch. He is still there in the medical bay where he has been held in a single room with four roommates.

— Rob Copeland (@realrobcopeland) December 20, 2022

 Bahamas Press then posted an update saying its sources were now reporting the claim was untrue.

Update (Dec. 21, 1:25 AM UTC): Information added from a Bloomberg report citing Bankman-Fried will transit to the U.S. on Dec. 21.