Seven and a half years in prison for next ex-manager of FTX
Another person responsible for the fraudulent actions at the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is now facing years in prison.
(Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock.com)
Ryan Salame, another former leader of the imploded cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been sentenced to prison. After the former manager of the hedge fund Alameda Research, which is closely associated with FTX, pleaded guilty to several charges, he has been sentenced to 90 months in prison. This was announced by the US Department of Justice, which added that six million US dollars would also be confiscated from the 30-year-old. He will also have to pay a further five million US dollars. According to CNBC, the prison sentence imposed exceeds the prosecution's demand for five to seven years in prison and far exceeds the sentence of one and a half years that the defense wanted. Salame is guilty of making illegal financial transactions while working for the then head of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, including hundreds of illegal donations amounting to tens of millions of US dollars to politicians.
Illegal donations to politicians
As the US Department of Justice summarizes, Salame helped to illegally use money from FTX's customers for unauthorized purposes. To this end, false statements were made to supervisory authorities. From around 2020, he then worked with Bankman-Fried to put money into politics in his name without the connection to the FTX boss becoming transparent. In this way, the enterprising businessman wanted to gain influence in Washington, D.C. and ultimately ensure favorable legislative changes. Because the exact background to these campaign donations was concealed, they were illegal. This defrauded the US campaign watchdog. Salame has pleaded guilty to these and other charges. The responsible public prosecutor's office has now also praised the FBI's contribution to the investigation.
FTX was one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms offering currencies such as Bitcoin. At the same time, the company had launched its own cryptocurrency called FTT. In the fall of 2022, concerns arose about the financial situation of the crypto exchange, whereupon customers began to withdraw their funds. It turned out that FTX was billions in the red, and the crypto exchange imploded. Bankman-Fried was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison a few weeks ago. The fact that creditors are to be paid out in full despite the bankruptcy is due to the increase in value of the cryptocurrencies of FTX investments, but this does not change the fraudulent actions of the company. This is underlined by the second prison sentence now imposed on a top manager of the company network.
(mho)