Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, agreed Monday to be extradited to the United States to face federal fraud charges, according to his attorney.
The 30-year-old finance guru was previously arrested in the Bahamas, and his decision not to fight extradition follows a reportedly raucous day in court.
Jerone Roberts, a Bahamian defense lawyer for Bankman-Fried, told The New York Times that his client had agreed to the extradition demands by American authorities, against "the strongest possible legal advice."
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"We as counsel will prepare the necessary documents to trigger the court [for extradition]," Roberts added. "Mr. Bankman-Fried wishes to put the customers right, and that is what has driven his decision."
Bankman-Fried was charged in the Southern District of New York with a series of criminal and civil offenses relating to the collapse of FTX. The 13-page federal indictment charged him with eight counts of wire fraud as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States, in a massive fraud scheme that investigators say totaled billions of dollars.
The Associated Press reported that Monday's court hearing had to be stopped after Bankman-Fried's lawyers claimed he was put before the court prematurely, and Roberts told the Times that he was "shocked" to see his client at the hearing. AP added that it remains unclear as to when his extradition could actually occur.
It was previously reported that Bankman-Fried was considering dropping his fight against extradition in an effort to make the legal process run more smoothly.
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