Former FTX executive faces up to 7 years in prison for crimes that toppled crypto empire
Former FTX executive faces up to 7 years in prison for crimes that toppled crypto empire
US federal prosecutors have charged Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive, and are seeking 5 to 7 years in prison for crimes that led to the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.
Salame pleaded guilty to a number of serious financial crimes related to the illegal use of FTX investors' funds.
It is worth noting that Salame's lawyers are insisting on a prison sentence of no more than 18 months, Cointelegraph reported.
Prosecutors emphasized the scale of the crime, calling it one of the largest in US history. According to them, the illegal FTX money transfer scheme processed more than $1 billion without proper oversight.
"The campaign finance crime is one of the largest in American history, and the unlicensed money transfer business handled more than $1 billion without proper oversight," prosecutors said in a statement.
Salama is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28. Prosecutors are pushing for a stiff sentence, saying only a lengthy prison term will deter similar crimes in the future.
Salama is the first associate of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to be sentenced. Bankman-Fried was previously sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven felony counts.
Investigations into the case are ongoing, and many lawmakers are supporting the FIT21 bill to define the role of financial regulators with respect to digital assets to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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