Former FTX Exec Plans to Plead Guilty to Criminal Charges – On September 7, Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, may make a court appearance and follow in the footsteps of individuals like Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh by pleading guilty to criminal charges linked to his alleged role in illicit activities at the defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
According to a Bloomberg report on September 7, citing insider sources, Salame intends to enter a guilty plea for various charges during his upcoming court appearance. This move aligns him with several other FTX-associated executives who have done the same since the exchange’s collapse in November 2022.
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Records from Bahamian courts indicate that Salame was among the first FTX insiders to alert authorities about the mingling of funds between Alameda Research and the cryptocurrency exchange. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang admitted to federal fraud charges in December 2022, while FTX’s former engineering director, Nishad Singh, followed suit with similar charges in February 2023.
FTX Digital Markets, an affiliate of FTX, operated in the Bahamas, where many executives, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, were situated before the company’s bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried, facing 12 criminal charges, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to address them in two trials set for October 2, 2023, and March 11, 2024.
As of the current publication, the specific charges Salame might face in connection to the FTX fraud were not disclosed. However, previous reports indicated that prosecutors were looking into potential violations of campaign finance regulations, particularly concerning contributions made to his girlfriend, Michelle Bond’s, 2022 congressional campaign.
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In a filing made in federal court in August, it was officially indicated that Ryan Salame would be unable to provide testimony against Sam Bankman-Fried in the latter’s criminal case. Instead, Salame expressed his intention to assert his Fifth Amendment right, which allows individuals to refrain from self-incrimination, should he be called upon as a witness.