FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s extradition more likely after bail denial: experts – National | 24CA News
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s failure to safe launch on bail within the Bahamas on Tuesday will increase the probability that he’ll consent to extradition to the United States to face fraud expenses, authorized specialists stated.
A decide ordered Bankman-Fried to be held on the Bahamas Department of Corrections till at the very least Feb. 8, citing his “great” danger of flight after New York federal prosecutors unveiled expenses towards him over the collapse of his as soon as high-flying crypto change, FTX.
Before his bail was denied, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer stated his consumer was not waiving his proper to extradition proceedings. If he fights removing, the method may contain as much as a yr or extra of hearings and appeals with little hope of success ultimately, specialists stated.
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The facility the place Bankman-Fried is being held is often known as Fox Hill Prison. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Attorneys who specialise in extradition say time locked up abroad typically encourages defendants to consent to being transferred to their house international locations.
“The extradition process can take a year or longer,” stated David Haas, a U.S. lawyer who has defended individuals going through extradition. “Usually people don’t want to sit in a jail overseas. That tends to be a major factor in whether someone challenges extradition.”
A Bahamian corrections official stated on Tuesday that Bankman-Fried will initially be held within the facility’s medical division till employees decide the suitable place for him. Bankman-Fried is scheduled to look earlier than one other Bahamian Justice of the Peace decide on Feb. 8.
Like most extradition treaties, the U.S.-Bahamas settlement requires alleged offenses to be thought of crimes in each international locations. Bankman-Fried is unlikely to persuade a Bahamian court docket that the securities fraud and wire fraud he stands accused of usually are not unlawful within the Bahamas, attorneys stated.
“Bahamian law generally reflects American law in these matters,” stated white-collar felony protection legal professional Jack Sharman. “I wouldn’t expect differences in the law to be a big extradition problem.”
Bankman-Fried may additionally argue that he wouldn’t obtain a good trial within the United States, would face unjust punishment there or would endure inhumane remedy, elements a Bahamian court docket must contemplate earlier than releasing him for extradition.
That has helped some defendants delay extradition, most notably WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has for years fought extradition from the UK to the United States to face expenses for allegedly leaking labeled navy intelligence.
But U.S. prosecutors have just lately received favorable rulings in Assange’s extradition proceedings by providing assurances that he can be stored protected in custody. The U.S. and Bahamian authorities may probably dealer an analogous settlement, Haas stated.
“There’s usually a diplomatic component. This is all handled through treaties,” Haas stated.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Amy Stevens and Matthew Lewis)
