Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, is heading back to the U.S. Wednesday but where he will land, in jail or somewhere much more comfortable, is unclear.
Bankman-Fried earlier Wednesday agreed to be extradited back to the U.S., where he faces fraud and other criminal charges related to the demise of FTX, once valued at $32 billion. He is expected back in the U.S. by Wednesday evening, and is expected to be arraigned in Federal District Court in Manhattan, but he will not appear in court tonight, Fortune has learned.
Though bail was denied to him in the Bahamas, where FTX is based, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers are currently negotiating bail in the U.S. but with highly restrictive conditions such as home detention, the New York Times reported.
Bankman-Fried’s unsuccessful bail application in the Bahamas sought his release for the short period of time while the court addressed the matter of extradition. But the sought-after bail in the U.S. will cover a longer period of time, possibly as much as a year, as Bankman-Fried awaits trial. Home detention, with an ankle monitor, is possible, said John Coffee, a Columbia University law professor
“He can get bail if the prosecution agrees or if the U.S. judge overrules the prosecutor,” Coffee said.
Mark S. Cohen, of law firm Cohen & Gresser, is Bankman-Fried’s attorney in the U.S. Cohen did not return messages for comment.
If Bankman-Fried is not granted bail, the executive will…
