SBF Files Yet Another Bail Application In A Desperate Effort

After having a similar appeal denied two days prior, SBF, a former CEO of the now-bankrupt exchange FTX, submitted a new bail application on December 15, according to local media.

BREAKING: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a new application for bail before the Supreme Court, Eyewitness News can confirm. The bail application is set to be heard before the Supreme Court on January 17, 2023. pic.twitter.com/92zmlnpocj

— Eyewitness News Bahamas (@ewnewsbahamas) December 15, 2022

The disgraced founder filed a second bail request, which is scheduled for a court hearing on January 17, 2023, in an obvious gesture of desperation.

SBF was being imprisoned at Fox Hill Prison, the only prison in the Bahamas, following his arrest on December 13. 

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

The next day, bail was set at $250,000. Bankman-attorneys Fried’s argued that he should be released because he had no prior convictions and was depressed and sleep-deprived.

On the basis that there was a flight risk, the presiding judge denied the appeal. Since then, his health and potential for self-harm have been under observation in the prison’s sick bay.

However, according to a 2021 human rights assessment, conditions in Fox Hill jail are infamous for being tough. Furthermore, there have been cases of physical violence against inmates.

Investigations turned up information about the facility’s poor sanitation and bad medical care for its prisoners. There were claims of physical abuse by prison employees throughout the research as well.

SBF’s defense case will likely extend his stay at Fox Hill in the meanwhile. And here is why.

SBF To Engage In A Sustained Legal War

In the US, where he is accused of eight offenses, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering, Bankman-Fried has chosen not to surrender his right to do so.

By refusing to give up that privilege, the imprisoned businessman may have braced himself for a protracted legal struggle. And he’ll presumably be held in Fox Hill for the whole time.

On the other side, if he consents to extradition, Bankman-Fried won’t fare any better in the American jail system.

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The encryption executive would be housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn or the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan as he awaited trial on federal charges in New York City.

Also alleged are the facilities’ unsanitary conditions, rodent and bug infestations, inadequate medical care, and abusive and aggressive guards. The states have been attacked as being “worse than Guantanamo” and “soul-negating,” which just makes things worse.

However, as long as extradition talks with the US are underway, SBF will likely remain in custody in the Bahamas until February 2023.