The Bahamas Court Appearance of Sam Bankman-Fried Adds to the Confusion

Counsel for Sam Bankman-Fried appeared shocked by Bankman-Fried’s decision to appear before a Bahamas court today.

Weekend reports suggested that Bankman Fried had changed his mind and would not fight extradition to the United States, where he faces a slew of criminal charges from the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for misusing customer funds and misleading investors.

According to Eyewitness News in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried attorney Jerome Roberts informed judge Shaka Serville that he was unaware of the court appearance until minutes before the hearing. He allegedly called this morning’s proceedings “shocking” and “premature.”

Reuters, meanwhile, claimed that Bankman-attorney Fried’s sought to see the U.S. indictment against the former FTX CEO prior to agreeing to waive an extradition challenge – a surprising request given the indictment has been public for nearly one week.

Bankman-extradition Fried’s hearing was scheduled for February 8, 2023. He will also seek bail again in a hearing on January 17, 2023.

Article: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/12/19/sam-bankman-frieds-bahamas-court-appearance-adds-to-confusion/