Note that Sam Bunkman-Fried did leave the courtroom in the US and did not go to prison. The relevant video from journalists is available at the link.

Screenshot of video of Sam Bankman-Fried leaving the courtroom

The bail announced for Sam’s release was $250 million, which is a huge amount for something like this. In all, Bunkman-Fried has left court, which means the money needed should, in theory, have been found. However, Sam has previously noted that he only has one bank account with “about $100,000” in it.

Does this mean that Bankman-Fried has once again deceived the audience? In short, no, and he did not deposit any money as collateral at all. We tell you more about the specifics of the US court system in this context.

Why the founder of the FTX crypto exchange was not jailed

Bunkman-Fried has already been released on $250 million bail, as insisted by New York Federal Judge Gabriel Gorenstein.

Sam Bunkman-Fried has arrived in the US following extradition proceedings

According to CNBC sources, bail conditions have been agreed by prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers. The former billionaire will have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, undergo mental health counselling and his activities will be restricted to the Northern District of California. The former FTX CEO will also be banned from opening new lines of credit while awaiting trial, while being allowed to use a computer.

Gorenstein noted that Sam will need "strict" supervision after his release. He is expected to live at his parents' home in California.

However, as we have already noted, it was not necessary to contribute any amount to Bankman-Fried’s release. The fact is that Sam was released under a so-called “obligation to appear”. This was a promise to respect certain restrictions and to appear in court when the time came. As part of the promise, Sam had to post a theoretical bail of 10 percent of the $250 million, which is $25 million.


Why theoretical? The fact is that Sam did not need to pay any money to get out, but some property - in particular Bankman-Fried's parents' house in California - had been set as bail. And if Sam fails to appear in court or breaches other conditions of his stay outside the courtroom, then the authorities will be able to recover this amount in the form of assets. Accordingly, Bankman-Friede's release is now based solely on his promise to follow the restrictions and to appear in court when required to do so.


The guarantors for Sam in this case must be four people, at least one of whom must not be a family member. So far, the document contains only two signatures – Allan Joseph Bunkman and Barbara Freed, that is, Sam’s father and mother, Decrypt reports.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s pledge to appear

Separately, it should be noted that the release on bail does not mean that Bankman-Fried is exonerated. The case against him is still pending, and Sam will then be required to appear in court.

Brooklyn Law School professor Miriam Baer explained the details. Here’s her line.

When a loved one or family member signs an undertaking to appear, the offender’s failure to appear in court will affect those relating to bail.

Accordingly, if Bankman-Fried tries to abscond, the equivalent of $250 million will be taken away from the bail bondsmen.

Baer continues.

But in some cases, requiring a bond to be signed – especially if a large sum is involved – is a more effective way of ensuring that the secured person goes to court again.


Do Sam Bankman-Fried's parents have hundreds of millions of dollars? According to Reuters, FTX management, along with Sam's parents, had previously purchased the equivalent of $300 million worth of property in the Bahamas. Accordingly, in theory, this amount could be found.

That said, Bankman-Friede's parents' current home is valued at around $4 million. It is located in California and has five bedrooms and a swimming pool.


Here are photos of this dwelling, where Sam Bankman-Fried will soon be staying.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents’ house

The study in Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents’ house

The photos are archived, which explains their poor quality.

Living room in Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents’ house

There is a swimming pool in the house, though.

The pool at Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents’ house

Which means that if Sam breaches the terms of his stay outside the courtroom, the property is likely to cease to belong to Bankman-Friede's parents.

The FTX proceedings do not end with Sam. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said separately from the prosecution that it is also charging FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research executive Caroline Allison “for their role in a multi-year scheme to defraud investors in FTX”. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officials also said the regulator had amended its claims against the suspects because they were actively assisting the litigation and “not contesting their responsibility” for participating in the fraud.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, in a public statement, confirmed Wang and Ellison’s cooperation with the investigation. He also hinted that others potentially involved in the fraudulent schemes within FTX, who continue to go into hiding, may also plead guilty for the time being to significant indulgences in punishment. Here is the relevant rejoinder cited by Decrypt.

Let me repeat the statement I made last week. If you were involved in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to come clean. Litigation moves fast and our patience is endless.

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang

Most interestingly, Williams made no mention of Ryan Salam, who shared the position of head of FTX Digital Markets (FDM). Recall that while the exchange was officially declared bankrupt, he alerted Bahamian authorities to illegal transactions within Sam Bankman-Fried’s ‘crypto empire’.

Charges against Wang and Allison have been filed by the US Department of Justice. Parallel to them, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is bringing its own charges. Here’s how Commission Chairman Gary Gensler commented.

Caroline Ellison and Sam Bankman-Fried schemed to manipulate the price of FTT, an exchange token that was an integral part of FTX, to support the capitalisation of their house of cards. When FTT and everything else collapsed, Mr Bankman-Fried, Mrs Ellison and Mr Wang left investors with nothing.

Caroline Ellison spotted in New York the day before

Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, described a couple of people close to Sam as “active participants in a scheme to hide material information from FTX investors”. Here’s his quote.

Ellison and Wang worked with Bankman-Friede to artificially boost the value of FTT, which served as collateral for undisclosed loans that Alameda had taken from FTX with virtually unlimited credit lines. By secretly funneling FTX customer funds into Alameda accounts, the defendants concealed the real risks faced by FTX investors and users.

The list of charges for Wang and Allison is enough for them to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. More specifically, we’re talking about the prospect of 50 and 110 years in prison respectively. But cooperating with the investigation helped them considerably. For example, Ellison’s agreement to cooperate with the U.S. attorney’s office would exempt her from any charges except for criminal tax law violations. Under the terms of the deal with the investigation, she would be eligible for release on $250,000 bail, with Ellison unable to leave the United States.

Charges against former FTX executive Sam Bankman-Friede became available earlier. If found guilty on all counts, the maximum sentence for Sam could be 165 years in federal prison.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

We believe Sam is unlikely to get away with it as he will now be in a certain area with a surveillance bracelet. What exactly he will be doing in the near future is unknown. Members of the blockchain community have already jokingly suggested that we should now wait for the release of an anonymous shithcoin from Bunkman-Fried, which would allow him to raise the right amount of money to compensate FTX users. Of course, this will not save him from responsibility for his actions.