A former executive of FTX will plead guilty to criminal charges related to the fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency company, several outlets reported, making him the fourth executive to plead guilty to criminal conduct since the company’s collapse last fall.
Ryan Salame will be the fourth FTX executive to plead guilty to criminal charges related to FTX's ... [+]
Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of Bahama-based affiliate FTX Digital Markets, is reportedly expected to plead guilty to criminal charges in a federal court hearing Thursday afternoon.
FTX co-founders Nishad Singh and Gary Wang have also pleaded guilty for FTX-related crimes, along with Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of FTX sister firm Alameda Research, while Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to a litany of fraud-related charges.
While the exact charges against Salame have not been reported, the New York Times reports Salame, who previously donated millions to Republicans, was under investigation for campaign finance law violations, and other executives have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws, fraud and wire fraud.
The three executives who have pleaded guilty have agreed to cooperate with federal investigators on FTX’s practices.
Salame’s expected guilty plea follows the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s search of his home earlier this year.
Forbes reached out to Salame’s lawyer for comment.
Once the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange firm, FTX came tumbling down in November 2022 due to a liquidity crisis of its FTT Token. The company filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Bankman-Fried, who was arrested a month after the collapse, is in jail after having his bail revoked last month for alleged witness tampering. That same month, the New York Times reported that Salame told Bahamian regulators that money from FTX Digital Markets was transferred to Alameda Research to cover Alameda’s financial losses.
FTX Leader Ryan Salame’s Home Searched By FBI (Forbes)
FTX Executive Nishad Singh Pleads Guilty In Fraud Probe (Forbes)
FTX And Alameda Executives Plead Guilty To Fraud As Sam Bankman-Fried Is Extradited To U.S. (Forbes)
Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty (Forbes)
What Happened To FTX? The Crypto Exchange Fund’s Collapse Explained. (Forbes)