Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on $250 million bail, a New York federal judge ruled on Thursday.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bankman-Fried is to live in Palo Alto, California with his parents under electronic surveillance. The next hearing is scheduled for January 3, when he’ll enter his plea and be arraigned.
His bail was backed by equity in his family house, and by the signatures of his parents and two other undisclosed individuals with “considerable” assets. Apart from “the largest-ever pretrial bond,” Sam Bankman-Fried is to undergo mental health counselling. Also he is prohibited to open any new lines of credit for more than $1,000.
Bankman-Fried is accused of fraud and money laundering. The former FTX CEO allegedly transferred $8 billion of FTX customer funds to his trading company, Alameda Research. Also, according to Internet activists, $500 mln just disappeared from the accounts of FTX under “suspicious circumstances”. However, the exact sums remain unclear.
Two of his top executives, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, pleaded guilty Wednesday to various criminal charges related to fraud at FTX, and are cooperating with the federal government.
Bankman-Fried bail is the biggest pre-trial bond in history. For instance, infamous Bernie Madoff, who organized a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme posted a $10 million bond. Former CEO of Enron Jeff Skilling posted a $5 million bond.