Former FTX Digital Market co-CEO Ryan Salame is transferring a $5.9 million house he owns in the Bahamas to settle criminal charges related to violating campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware stated that Salame will forfeit the house under his plea agreement. FTX Digital Markets was the Bahamian subsidiary of FTX Trading Ltd., managed by Sam Bankman-Fried, which went bankrupt in November 2022. Salame handled the exchange’s political donations while at FTX Digital Market, particularly to the Republican Party among others. He pleaded guilty in September 2023 and is currently out on a $1 million bond.
Salame was charged with conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Instead of paying the restitution amount in cash, Salame agreed to transfer his residence in the Bahamas to FTX DM as nominee for the Debtors. The residence has been appraised at $5,900,000, exceeding the restitution amount. Bankman-Fried, the former co-CEO of FTX, was convicted on seven counts of fraud in November 2023 following a trial that saw several FTX and Alameda Research employees testify against him. Salame will be the first of Bankman-Fried’s co-conspirators to face legal punishment when he is sentenced on May 28.
Bankman-Fried has filed to appeal his 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy charges. His lawyers formally filed the appeal following his gruelling landmark fraud trial last fall. The appeal comes after Salame, Bankman-Fried’s former co-CEO, agreed to transfer his $5.9 million house in the Bahamas to settle criminal charges related to campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. FTX Digital Markets, a subsidiary of FTX Trading Ltd., managed by Bankman-Fried, went bankrupt in November 2022. Salame handled political donations at FTX Digital Market, including those to the Republican Party.
Salame pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions, defrauding the Federal Election Commission, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. As part of his plea agreement, he will transfer his residence in the Bahamas to FTX DM in lieu of paying the restitution amount in cash. The residence has been appraised at $5,900,000, exceeding the restitution amount. Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud in November 2023, and employees testified against him in the trial. Salame will be the first co-conspirator of Bankman-Fried to face legal punishment when he is sentenced on May 28.
In a recent court filing, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers formally filed to appeal his 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy charges following his landmark fraud trial last fall. The appeal comes after Salame agreed to transfer his $5.9 million house in the Bahamas to settle criminal charges related to campaign finance laws and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. FTX Digital Markets, a subsidiary of FTX Trading Ltd., managed by Bankman-Fried, went bankrupt in November 2022. Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Market, handled political donations at the exchange, including to the Republican Party.
