Disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services and will be staying in the country’s only prison, a facility known as Fox Hill.
Bankman-Fried, expecting to obtain bail, did not waive a hearing on his extradition to the United States where he is facing federal criminal charges of misappropriating funds and violating campaign laws. But he was denied bail and ordered to stay in prison until his extradition hearing on February 8.
“Risk of flight is so great that Samuel Bankman-Fried ought to be remanded in custody,” Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt said. “I am not satisfied that there is any condition that I could place in Samuel Bankman-Fried to sufficiently satisfy, because of his access to substantial finances, that he would not and could not abscond.”
Reuters earlier reported that according to Doan Cleare, Bahamian Commissioner of Correctional Services, Bankman-Fried will be temporarily staying in the facility’s medical department, he will be held in a sick bay which can hold up to five people.
“He will be in sick bay for orientation purposes and then we will determine where best to place him,” Cleare told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
While Cleare said that the conditions at Fox Hill have greatly improved following a renovation program, a 2021 human-rights report on the Bahamas by the US State Department describes the prison as “harsh due to overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, and inadequate medical care.“
There’s also this video, reportedly taken from inside a Fox Hill cell, that shows just how “harsh” conditions at the prison are due to “poor nutrition.”
In a separate 2021 report, a former prisoner described “inadequate sanitation” as “waking up to each morning is the smell of —- in my nostrils” as inmates were made to use slop buckets in their cells.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Mark S. Cohen said in a statement that his client “is reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options.”
Following the federal criminal charges brought against Bankman-Fried, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed fraud charges, alleging that the former FTX CEO had “improperly diverted customer assets” from the beginning.
Information for this briefing was found via Reuters, the Wall Street journal, Decrypt, Twitter, 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.
