The four main partners of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX could be up for a reunion, albeit in court. Former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh reportedly met with federal prosecutors in an attempt to become the third member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to seek a cooperation arrangement in the cryptocurrency exchange’s fraud lawsuit.
This follows former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX CTO Zixiao (Gary) Wang also working with law enforcement agencies after pleading guilty to charges of fraud, pinning Bankman-Fried further into a corner. Soon after, former in-house lawyer Daniel Friedberg was later disclosed to also be helping US prosecutors in their investigation.
READ: Caroline Ellison Pleads Guilty To FTX Fraud Scheme, Posts $250K Bail
Contradictorily, Bankman-Fried pled not guilty to allegations of fraud, conspiracy, campaign finance law violations, and money laundering. The trial is tentatively set for October 2023.
READ: FTX Fraud: Sam Bankman-Fried Enters Not Guilty Plea, Trial Set For October 2023
According to persons familiar with the situation who spoke with Bloomberg, Singh attended a so-called proffer session last week at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Individuals are frequently provided limited immunity at such discussions in order to disclose what they know with prosecutors.
Singh joined Alameda Research in 2017 before co-founding FTX alongside Wang and Bankman-Fried two years later. He contributed to the development of the exchange’s software and the launch of FTX US in 2020.
Singh’s name was also linked to a GitHub account that generated code to mask Alameda’s rising liabilities in the run-up to FTX’s bankruptcy filing on November 11, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
The former chief engineer owned 7.8% of FTX and received a personal loan of $543 million from Alameda, which was later discovered to be money from FTX consumers.
According to an SEC complaint, as FTX began to fall and an $8 billion hole appeared on its financial sheet, Ellison informed her Alameda staff that she, Singh, Bankman-Fried, and Wang were aware FTX funds had been utilized by the trading business.
READ: CFTC: Sam Bankman-Fried Designed Alameda With Unlimited Credit Line To FTX Deposits
Singh, a Democrat megadonor who lived in the Bahamas with Bankman-Fried, might provide insight into the campaign finance side of FTX. Since 2020, he has contributed more than $9.3 million to Democratic politicians and committees. He spent $8 million on the last election cycle alone.
FTX has been linked to at least $73 million in political donations, and Bankman-Fried has committed to give up to $1 billion in the 2024 presidential election cycle.
The new FTX management intends to recoup those donations. Last month, the team officially urged the “recipients of contributions” to repay the funds voluntarily. The alternative will be to use bankruptcy court to compel organizers to reimburse the money with interest.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
