Sam Bankman-Fried demands bail deal

According to persons familiar with the situation who spoke to CNN, Sam Bankman-attorneys Fried's are negotiating with federal prosecutors in New York on a bail deal that would allow him to avoid detention.

Bankman-Fried, the creator of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who ran his now-bankrupt crypto enterprise from an opulent Bahamas villa, is anticipated to be back in the United States as soon as Wednesday.

Bankman-attorney Fried's in the Bahamas informed the court during a hearing on Wednesday that his client has consented to his extradition to the US, where federal prosecutors accuse him of planning "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history."

When the 30-year-old reaches the United States, Bankman-Fried will show up in front of a Manhattan judge for a bond hearing. When he gets to New York and is processed will determine when that hearing will take place.

Bankman-Fried has been detained in a prison that US officials have described as overcrowded, filthy, and lacking medical treatment for the past week and a half since his arrest in the Bahamas. Its cramped cages, which are "infested with rodents, maggots, and insects," frequently lack bedding.

Bankman-counsel Fried's and the prosecution are negotiating a deal for his release under certain restrictions so that the failing cryptocurrency entrepreneur wouldn't have to spend time in the Metropolitan Detention Center. Former prisoners and human rights activists have criticized the MDC, a pre-trial detention facility, for its frequent lockdowns, overcrowding, and power failures that have left it without heat in the dead of winter.

Bankman-Fried, who formed FTX in 2019, was accused of scamming investors and clients by federal authorities last week. He may spend the rest of his life behind bars if found guilty of all eight counts of fraud and conspiracy.

After investors hurried to withdraw their money from the exchange, causing a liquidity crisis, FTX and its sister trading firm, Alameda, both declared bankruptcy last month.

In the weeks following their bankruptcy, FTX's new CEO made a public statement claiming that cash from customers deposited on the FTX website was mixed with funds at Alameda, which placed several high-risk, speculative bets. The CEO of the two organizations, John Ray III, called the scenario "old-fashioned embezzlement" committed by a small number of "grossly incompetent and uneducated people."

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