Ryan Salame, a former high-ranking executive of crypto exchange FTX, has entered a guilty plea in connection with criminal charges related to the wider fraud case involving FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
As part of the settlement, Salame has agreed to forfeit $1.55 billion in assets and pay a $6 million fine.
Another witness against SBF
Appearing in court on Thursday, Salame pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Committee and operating a money-transmitting business without a license. He could face up to a decade in prison on the charges.
The executive once headed a subsidiary of FTX in the Bahamas and is an active Republican donor, sending $24 million to political candidates during the 2022 midterm election cycle. He admitted to incorrectly labeling the $10 million contribution as a “loan”.
The US Attorney said, “Ryan Salame agreed to further the interests of FTX, Alameda Research and its co-conspirators through an illegal political influence campaign and unlicensed money transmission business, which enabled FTX to operate outside the law.” Helped grow faster and bigger.” Damian Williams said in a statement following the plea.
During his plea, Salame said he “understood that the loan would eventually be forgiven” and was not required to repay it.
Federal prosecutors targeted Salame in light of the FTX fallout and conducted a search of his home in Maryland earlier this year. Legal documents directly linked him to Bankman-Fried’s alleged “straw donor” scheme to circumvent campaign contribution limits, characterizing him as a proxy donor.
The Odds Stack Up Against Bankman-Fried
The development is another blow to Bankman-Fried, whose trial is set to begin on October 3.
Salame’s decision to cooperate with authorities marks him as the fourth executive in Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to admit criminal wrongdoing since the collapse of FTX in November.
Co-workers Nishad Singh, Carolyn Ellison and Gary Wang have previously pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in December and faces seven criminal counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud. He is accused of siphoning off billions of dollars from FTX’s client funds to finance real estate acquisitions, political donations and investments in other firms.
The former boss has maintained his innocence, although his bail was recently revoked after a judge ruled he attempted to interfere with witnesses.
Featured image courtesy of Bloomberg.
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source: cryptopotato.com
