The former head of the FTX software engineering team and a member of Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle, Nishad Singh, reportedly plans to plead guilty to US criminal charges regarding his role in the collapse of the crypto exchange.
According to US media, Singh intends to plea bargain with the prosecutor's office, which means cooperating with authorities in exchange for a commutation of punishment. Two other associates of Bankman-Fried - Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison - have already pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the prosecution.
The report stresses that this development complicates the situation for Bankman-Fried, who earlier pleaded not guilty, as it will be very difficult for the ex-FTX head to prove his innocence.
The collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has become one of the biggest scandals in the history of corporate America. Investigators believe that Bankman-Fried and his subordinates had been misleading investors for several years and used billions of dollars of their clients for personal expenses and risky bets at affiliate company Alameda.
Singh was responsible for developing the FTX software and reportedly was a close friend of Bankman-Fried who lived with him in a Bahamas penthouse. This allows the investigation to assume that Singh has valuable information on the case.
The investigation is also interested in information about FTX financing political campaigns. Bankman-Fried reportedly funded politicians and Singh has been aware of these activities since he himself allegedly gave more than $9.3 million to Democratic candidates.
Over the course of two years, Bankman-Fried reportedly gave about $40 million to political candidates and party groups. He has given most of his donations to the Democrats, but also often supported Republican parliamentarians, who were seen as friendly to the crypto industry.
"All this dirty money was used in his desire to buy bipartisan influence and influence direction of public policy in Washington," claimed US Attorney Damian Williams.
Bankman-Fried Arrest: FTX Founder May Know Whether Foreign Money Flew Into US Politics, Analyst Says
13 December 2022, 18:57 GMT
No VPN for Bankman-Fried
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried is having a hard time using gadgets. Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the Bankman-Fried trial, threatened to revoke a $250 million bail package unless the FTX founder was banned from using VPNs.
The judge emphasized that all contacts of the creator of the bankrupt crypto exchange should be carefully monitored by the government. The hearing followed weeks of public concern that Bankman-Fried used the encrypted Signal messenger to contact FTX management, key witnesses in the case.
Bankman-Fried's lawyers dubbed the measures “draconian” and insisted that his client’s use of apps and VPNs was innocent. However, the judge was adamant.
“It isn't the government who contacted the witness,” Kaplan stated.
The judge was also skeptical of Bankman-Fried's claims that he used a VPN to watch the Super Bowl.
The judge added the use of a VPN to the list of other prohibited online activities, making it another condition of bail. Bankman-Fried has already been banned from using encrypted messaging apps, in part because of concerns he might try to intimidate or influence FTX employees.