SBF Denied Bail, Handcuffed, Sent to Bahamian Jail Until February Hearing

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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was denied bail, handcuffed, and marched out of a Bahamas courtroom Tuesday. He was taken to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services where he’ll be housed in the medical until the next scheduled hearing on February 8, 2023. As we reported, SBF was arrested Monday and later charged with multiple counts of fraud after the stunning crash of his cryptocurrency exchange. He looked downcast as he was spirited away:

The disgraced wonderboy and Democrat megadonor was denied bail after his lawyers requested it be set at $250,000. SBF begged the judge to let him out, citing his vegan diet and ADD diagnosis as reasons he should not be put behind bars.

Prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk, and apparently the magistrate judge agreed. SBF lowered his head and hugged his parents, both Stanford professors, after the decision came down. Reuters reported that the detention center has a questionable reputation, with a 2021 U.S. State Department report citing rodents and a lack of toilets. Local authorities however claim that conditions have since improved.

The 30-year-old, who was recently estimated to be worth $32 billion, claims he is now down to only $100,000 after his firm’s collapse. Tuesday, he was charged by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York with defrauding FTX customers, committing wire fraud on both lenders and customers, and conspiring to commit both securities fraud and money laundering.

In one of the most notable accusations, SBF was also hit with allegations of violating campaign finance laws and defrauding the United States. He was one of the largest donors in the most recent election cycle, dropping at least $40 million in Democrat coffers, which earned him the undying admiration and protection of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and others. The filing accuses him of using “deceitful means” to get around campaign finance law and that he “knowingly and willfully” made contributions to candidates using other people’s names. The Babylon Bee had thoughts on what he was doing:

DOJ Arrests Sam Bankman-Fried For Running Out Of Bribery Money https://t.co/4EumbX2bl9

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) December 13, 2022

Bankman-Fried faces a maximum 115-year sentence if convicted. The SEC also chimed in, alleging that the former wunderkind defrauded investors by illegally using their money to make extravagant real estate purchases.

CNBC describes what led to the downfall of FTX:

FTX’s collapse was precipitated when reporting by CoinDesk revealed a highly concentrated position in self-issued FTT coins, which Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund Alameda Research used as collateral for billions in crypto loans. Binance, a rival exchange, announced it would sell its stake in FTT, spurring a massive withdrawal in funds. FTX froze assets and declared bankruptcy days later.

In other words, it was all a high-tech Ponzi scheme. Interestingly, the curly-haired (former) crypto-king was arrested the day before he was supposed to appear before a congressional hearing. Many questioned the timing, noting that he’d been wandering around free for the last month since the scandal broke. Some wondered whether the entire story would just disappear—which many powerful people would certainly desire—and SBF along it with, à la Jeffrey Epstein: