FTX’s former co-CEO Ryan Salame is set to confess that he played a role in the FTX exchange crash. Such a situation will add intrigue to the upcoming trial of Sam Bankman-Fried.
Ryan Salame admits role in FTX collapse
According to the latest developments, Salame is preparing to file a criminal complaint in federal court in Manhattan. The details came from the final presentation of the ongoing hearing on FTX.
Salame’s confession comes less than a month before Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. His confessions would fuel a series of criminal and regulatory investigations involving FTX. Additionally, investigations intensified due to Salame’s $24 million donation to political campaigns. Let us note that the last time Salame was active on social media was November 2022.
It’s so powerful learning who your friends are! Very excited to grow with them in the long term. It’s not hard to genuinely figure out who cares about customers and who doesn’t if you look past the insanity
— Ryan Salame (@rsalame7926) November 7, 2022
Moreover, the federal government had previously scrutinized Salame specifically for violating campaign finance laws. This was related to Michelle Bond’s role in the 2022 congressional race. Therefore, federal authorities are trying to determine whether Salame and Bond violated government-imposed donation limits.
Salame will be the fourth FTX confessor
Meanwhile, Salame’s confession will be the fourth confession of officials associated with FTX. Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, who were already facing federal fraud charges in December 2022, pleaded guilty. FTX’s former engineering director Nishad Singh also pleaded guilty earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is now preparing to hear testimony from Ryan Salame. The case against Bankman-Fried is also progressing under Kaplan’s direction. But Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud and conspiracy charges linked to the stock market crash, has pleaded not guilty. He became a millionaire before FTX’s collapse, as cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, skyrocketed in value. cryptocoin.comIn this article, we included what happened in the November 2022 FTX bankruptcy.
Press Release pic.twitter.com/rgxq3QSBqm
— FTX (@FTX_Official) November 11, 2022
Ryan Salame’s guilty plea complicates the upcoming (Oct. 2) trial for the FTX founder. Considering the scale of FTX’s collapse, Salame’s next hearing will attract significant attention both within and outside the crypto community.
SBF pleads not guilty
Despite the fourth admission, the infamous FTX founder continues to dispute his involvement in the collapse. In the latest developments, he pleaded not guilty to charges of violating campaign finance laws and Chinese bribery. But the new accusations increase the pressure Bankman-Fried is under. SBF faces decades in prison if convicted at his trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 2. Under U.S. law, penalties for bribery of a public official include a fine of up to three times the value of the bribe and up to 15 years in federal prison.
