FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to leave Bahamas for US after agreeing to be extradited

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, will department from The Bahamas for the United States early Wednesday evening after agreeing to be extradited, authorities said. 

The announcement from The Bahamas’ Office of the Attorney General comes hours after Bankman-Fried told a Bahamian court he has agreed to be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges related to last month’s collapse of FTX. 

Bankman-Fried appeared at a Magistrate's Court and was expected to head to Odyssey Aviation to return to the United States, Bahamian news organization Our News reported.

Bahamian authorities arrested Bankman-Fried last week at the request of the U.S. government. U.S. prosecutors allege he played a central role in the rapid collapse of FTX and hid its problems from the public and investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bankman-Fried illegally used investors' money to buy real estate on behalf of himself and his family.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, center, is escorted from a Corrections Department van as he arrives at the Magistrate Court building for a hearing, in Nassau, Bahamas, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell / AP Newsroom)

Bankman-Fried was denied bail Friday after a Bahamian judge ruled that he posed a flight risk. Once he's back in the U.S., Bankman-Fried's attorney can request that he be released on bail. 

Bankman-Fried is expected to have his first court appearance in the Southern District of New York. The 30-year-old could potentially spend the rest of his life in jail.