Recall that Sam Bunkman-Fried went through extradition proceedings from the Bahamas to the US last week. He was later released on $250 million bail. It is also known that at least two people from around Sam's crypto empire management, represented by former Alameda Research executive Caroline Allison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, are actively cooperating with the investigation.

It is important to note that Bankman-Fried or his relatives did not pay any amount for Sam’s provisional release. Bankman-Fried left the courthouse and went to his parents’ home in California under what is known as an obligation to appear. In other words, he is obliged to stay in a certain place, wear a special bracelet and report to court at the first demand.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX

If Sam violates any conditions of provisional release, then the $250 million fine will be relevant, which means that the state will take away certain property. Above all, this applies to Bankman-Fried’s parents, who have vouched for their own son.

In case problems arise for Sam, they will surely have their house in California taken away from them, which is now tentatively valued at 4 million dollars. Photos of the house where the Bankman-Friedom family is staying can be seen in this article.

What’s going on in the FTX crypto-exchange case?

A new judge from the Southern District of New York must now be chosen to handle the trial. So far, the court has no specific deadline for this procedure. Usually judges in such circumstances are randomly assigned to cases, and are only excluded from consideration if there is a potential conflict of interest.

Federal Judge Ronnie Adams

It’s unclear why Abrams decided to declare a potential conflict of interest now, rather than much earlier, since the trial began weeks ago. In addition, the fact that her husband was at the firm that partnered with FTX was hardly unbeknownst to Adams, Decrypt reports. Often, judges contemplating whether to leave a trial discuss such matters with their county’s chief judge and ethics committee, and examine case law before making a final decision.

Sam Bankman-Fried after being released on bail

Meanwhile, the former billionaire, who spent less than a week in jail in the Bahamas following his arrest the week before last, has already arrived home just in time for Christmas. Sam boarded a flight to California on Thursday night and was spotted at his laptop in the American Airlines business class lounge in New York.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the business lounge of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York

😈 YOU CAN FIND MORE INTERESTING STUFF ON OUR YANDEX.ZEN!

Overall, other interesting details continue to surface in the FTX bankruptcy story. In particular, it was revealed the day before that the exchange had paid an advance of $12 million in legal fees and other costs. Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (S&C) received $12 million from West Realm Shires Services Inc. on behalf of FTX for legal services. In addition, FTX has paid almost $3.5 million to S&C in the last 90 days – that is, since August 26, 2022.

Based on information provided to Cointelegraph reporters, FTX has paid at least $15.5 million for legal services to S&C. S&C has now received almost $9 million of the $12 million fee. After a series of payments, FTX filed for bankruptcy on 11 November, accompanied by the resignation of CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The subsequent closure of the exchange resulted in FTX investors losing access to their funds.

FTX payment list

As you can see, Sam and his team had serious legal backing with good funding. Unsurprisingly, the lawyers were able to secure serious indulgences for several suspects of particularly large scale fraud. And now Bunkman-Fried has spent Christmas with his family rather than in a Bahamian prison.


We think such a situation is quite normal and should hardly come as a surprise - also given the scale of the damage on Sam Bunkman-Fried's part. The only cause for doubt is the timing of the referee's self-imposed removal. Again, a member of the judiciary must have been aware of the potential conflict of interest before.