Ryan Salame gave up his fancy home in the Bahamas so that he could get a lighter term in a criminal case. He used to be co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets.
FTX Trading Ltd and its creditors asked the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware for this on May 1. Salame seemed to agree to give up a $5.9 million Bahamas house.
FTX Executive’s Admission and Agreement: Surrendering Home for Debt Repayment
Salame admitted to the crimes he was charged with in September 2023. As part of his plea deal, he decided to pay off $5.6 million in debt. To complete this job, he gave FTX Digital Markets Ltd. the keys to his home in the Bahamas instead of cash.
The plan says Salame won’t have to sell the land quickly for a low price, which could make it harder for him to raise funds by selling other things in the Bahamas.
As we make our choice, the Bahamas’ real estate market is going down. Properstar, an Australian real estate business, says that the number of high-end sales has dropped by a lot since 2023. Prices for apartments have dropped by 28% in the past year.
Salami is charged with trying to send illegal money to lawmakers and run an illegal money-transfer business. He was also said to have lied to the Federal Election Commission.
Salame also wrote in a letter how he bought the land. News sources say he bought it for $7.2 million in September 2021, using a 10% down payment from an Alameda Research account at Silvergate Bank. In November of that year, FTX DM sent Salame’s real estate agent $8.1 million from its Fidelity Bank account in the Bahamas to cover the rest of the price of the house.
But things got tougher when FTX and Alameda had money problems in early November 2022 and had to file for bankruptcy. On May 28, 2024, the judge will decide what will happen to Salame.
