SEC and CFTC indict FTX’s Nishad Singh

FTX chief engineer Nishad Singh was sued by both the SEC and CFTC shortly after pleading guilty to six criminal charges yesterday.

Aid and abet fraud

Another of Sam Bankman-Fried’s lieutenants is facing civil lawsuits.

yesterday both National Stock Market Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed complaints against FTX’s former head of engineering, Nishad Singh.

The CFTC charged Singh with fraud and aiding and abetting fraud committed by FTX, Alameda Research and Sam Bankman-Fried. Among other things, the regulator is seeking civil money penalties, restitution of funds, and a ban on Singh from ever again engaging in the trading of commodity interests, or “digital asset commodities.”

“Today’s filing reflects the CFTC’s commitment to protect the US digital commodity markets,” said CFTC Senior Counsel Gretchen Lowe. “Today’s filing also includes an allowance of liability by an individual charged with engaging in and aiding significant violations of the Commodity Trading Act and CFTC regulations.”

The SEC, for its part, charged Singh with violating the Securities Act and the Exchange Act by allowing Bankman-Fried to move FTX funds illegally. The agency is also seeking civil money penalties and a ban on Singh from trading securities, including “crypto asset securities.”

“We allege that this was fraud, pure and simple,” SEC compliance director Gurbir Grewal said. “While, on the one hand, FTX was promoting its allegedly effective risk mitigation measures to investors, on the other, Mr. Singh and his co-defendants were stealing client funds using software code that Mr. Singh helped create.”

Singh pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of wire fraud, three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by violating campaign finance laws.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the author of this article owned BTC, ETH, and various other crypto assets.