Two partners of FTX cryptocurrency platform founder Sam Bankman-Fried have pleaded guilty to bank fraud, among other crimes, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Wednesday.
Former chief executive of Alameda Research, the company founded by Bankman-Fried and FTX’s investment arm, Carolyn Ellison, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, pleaded guilty to charges “related to their role in the fraud that contributed to the collapse” of the company, Attorney Damian Williams said in a video.
Williams added that the two are collaborating with the investigation into “the grand fraud scheme” that the cryptocurrency guru allegedly conducted and that contributed to the collapse of the company, bringing havoc to the sector.
The prosecutor assured that the investigation “is progressing rapidly”.
Williams also said that Bankman-Fried himself is currently in FBI custody and on his way to the United States, with an expected court appearance in New York “as soon as possible”.
Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested last week in the Bahamas after Williams accused him of orchestrating a fraud against FTX investors.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Bankman-Fried organized a fraudulent scheme over the years to hide from FTX investors the diversion of client funds to Alameda Research.
