FTX Scandal Deepens – Sam Bankman-Fried’s Right Hand Man Nishad Singh to Plead Guilty To Fraud
Nishad Singh (the former director of engineering at the collapsed crypto exchange FTX) and Sam Bankman Fried’s right-hand-man are preparing to plead guilty with U.S. prosecutors
According to Friday Report Bloomberg reports that the ex-FTX executive plans to plead guilty for his involvement in the alleged scheme. According to people familiar with the matter the report stated that Singh’s move came as Manhattan prosecutors prepare for fraud charges.
It is possible that Singh will cooperate with authorities as part of the plea deal. This could further isolate Bankman-Fried who has pleaded guilty to an eight-count Indictment and is awaiting trial. The agreement with Singh is still to be completed.
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, has pleaded guilty to seven charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer has pleaded guilty. Both Ellison as well as Wang are cooperating federal investigators.
According to the report, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission, which are the two most important US market regulators, intend to sue Singh for his involvement in the alleged scheme.
Singh, aged 27, was the head of engineering at FTX and played a significant role in its day-to-day operations. Singh joined Alameda in 2017, before establishing FTX with Wang and BankmanFried two years later.
He is a Berkeley graduate, which is where he met Claire Watanabe. Claire would later join FTX to be its head of HR and marketing.
Recent Developments in the FTX Story
FTX filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy with its crypto-company group in November. After US prosecutors filed formal criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, he was arrested in The Bahamas. After posting a bond of $250m in New York, he was finally extradited to the USA.
Eight criminal charges have been filed against Bankman-Fried, including wire fraud and conspiracy to misuse customer funds. For the crimes he’s accused of, he faces more than 100 years imprisonment. He will appear in federal court on October.
A New York judge has placed on hold the cases against the former CEO of FTX, brought by the SEC & CFTC, until the criminal charges against him are resolved.
New court documents revealed that the identities of two co-signers to FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried’s bond were finally revealed. They turned out be Andreas Paepcke (Stanford University professor) and Larry Kramer (Stanford University professors, close friends of SBF’s parents.