Another member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle is allegedly planning to plead guilty to criminal charges for his role in the alleged fraud that occurred on cryptocurrency exchange FTX. According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Nishad Singh, a former director of engineering at FTX, is trying to negotiate a plea deal with New York prosecutors.
Sources say former FTX engineering director nearing plea deal, Singh could provide critical testimony
On Friday, Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille reported that Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, is negotiating a deal with federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Two others from Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, have already pleaded guilty to charges related to the multi-year fraud that allegedly took place. at FTX since 2019.
Anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Versprille about the deal, with the reporter noting that the deal with Singh has not been finalized. The prosecutors’ office in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) declined to comment on the alleged deal, and Versprille also noted that a representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. If Singh cooperates with authorities against Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO will be outnumbered, as Wang and Ellison are already cooperating with authorities.
Bankman-Fried is awaiting trial scheduled for October 3, 2023, and prosecutors have been trying to restrict his use of specific types of electronic devices. The reason for the prosecutors’ action against the use of specific electronic devices is because Bankman-Fried was found to be using a VPN in January and February 2023. While the judge has limited the former FTX executive’s use of the end-to-end encrypted messaging services like Signal, no decision has yet been made on restricting the use of other forms of electronics, such as VPNs.
Bankman-Fried faces more than 100 years in prison for the crimes he is accused of and has pleaded not guilty to all eight counts. The co-founder of FTX was accused on December 13, 2022, by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, and SDNY attorney Damian Williams testified that he was charged with “fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance crimes.” Singh played a crucial role in engineering and infrastructure for FTX, and was originally hired by Alameda Research in 2017. Two years later, Singh began working closely with Bankman-Fried and FTX’s top lieutenants.
If Singh makes a deal and pleads guilty, he will be the third member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to do so. It is unknown if other FTX or Alameda employees are working with federal prosecutors. SDNY’s top prosecutor, Williams, has twice mentioned that if someone has played a role in FTX’s collapse and hasn’t come forward, he should do so before authorities come knocking on his door. “If you engaged in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to come forward,” Williams stressed after revealing that Wang and Ellison were cooperating.
What do you think about the possible implications of Nishad Singh’s cooperation with the authorities? Share your opinion on this matter in the comments section below.
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