Former FTX executive Ryan Salame is being pushed by federal officials in the US for a long prison sentence of five to seven years. As authorities stress how serious it is that Salame was involved in criminal activities connected to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, the recommendation comes simultaneously.
Bloomberg says that prosecutors filed a sentencing memo in Manhattan federal court, focusing on how serious Salame’s crimes were and the need for a harsh term to ensure his proper punishment. Salame will be sentenced on May 28. He has already accepted guilt for breaking campaign finance laws and running an unlicensed payment transfer business.
The campaign finance offense is one of the largest-ever in American history, and the unlicensed money transmitting business exchanged more than $1 billion without proper supervision. U.S. prosecutors
FTX Challenges Sentence, Scandal Unfolds
Salame’s lawyers plan to challenge the suggested sentence, pointing out that he worked with police. At the same time, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, who were also involved in the scandal, are waiting for their sentences.
He has been a good man who has done much good in this world, who conspired to commit two crimes while in the thrall of a criminal leader. Salame’s attorneys
While at a blockchain gathering, Salame met Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX’s hedge fund, and decided to join. This was the start of Salame’s relationship with FTX. After that, he became the CEO of FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas.
Prosecutors say Salame was very important in making it possible for FTX to take customer payments through a U.S. bank account without having the right licenses. He is also charged with being a “straw donor” who gave millions of dollars to political campaigns.
When FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, Bankman-Fried was given a 25-year jail sentence and told to pay back $11 billion. He was accused of stealing and misappropriating customer funds worth billions of dollars.
However, new sources say that FTX has collected billions more than it needs to cover its losses. Former CEO John Ray called this an “unbelievable result,” which shows that the exchange is committed to fully compensating its more than 2 million customers.
