Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly planning to plead guilty in criminal court to his involvement in the alleged fraud at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Unnamed sources claim that Nishad Singh (FTX’s former director for engineering) is trying to reach a deal with New York prosecutors.

Sources say Singh, a former director of engineering at FTX, is close to a plea deal.

Allyson Versprille, Bloomberg reporter, will be reporting on Friday reported Nishad Singh (ex-director of engineering at FTX) is currently negotiating a deal in Manhattan with federal prosecutors. Ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang were also part of Sam Bankman Fried’s inner circle. They have already pleaded guilty in connection to multiyear fraud at FTX.

Versprille was informed by unnamed sources about the situation that Singh’s deal has not been finalized. Versprille noted that Bankman-Fried’s representative declined to comment. The former CEO of FTX will be outnumbered if Singh cooperates with authorities against Bankman Fried, since Wang and Ellison already cooperate with authorities.

Bankman-Fried is currently awaiting his trial on October 3, 2023. Prosecutors have tried to limit his use of certain types of electronic devices. Bankman-Fried was discovered to have used a VPN between January and February 2023, which is the reason why prosecutors are taking action against him. Although the judge has restricted the former FTX executive from using encrypted messenger services like Signal, a decision on restricting other electronic devices, such as VPNs, has yet to be made.

Bankman-Fried faces more than 100 years imprisonment for the crimes he is charged with and has pleaded guilty to all eight of the charges. Co-founder of FTX, he was Indicted On December 13, 2022, a federal grand jury in Manhattan indicted Singh. Damian Williams, SDNY attorney, stated that Singh was charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. Singh was initially hired by Alameda Research back in 2017. Singh started working closely with Bankman Fried and top lieutenants of FTX two years later.

Singh will become the third member in Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to plead guilty if he makes a deal. It is not known if any other FTX and Alameda employees are cooperating with federal prosecutors. Williams, the SDNY’s top prosecutor has said twice that if anyone played a part in the FTX fallout and they have not yet come forward, it is important that they do so before authorities arrive at their doors. Williams stated that “if you were involved in misconduct at FTX, Alameda or FTX, now is the right time to act.” He also revealed that Ellison and Wang had been cooperating.

What do you think about the possible implications of Nishad’s cooperation? Comment below to share your thoughts.