Former FTX executive Ryan Salame, who is accused of being the right-hand man of FTX co-founder Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, is facing a request from United States prosecutors to serve a prison sentence of five to seven years. These prosecutors claim that Salame’s actions contributed to the eventual downfall of the FTX crypto exchange. The sentencing memo was filed on May 21 in a Manhattan federal court, where Salame had already pleaded guilty to committing “serious crimes” related to the misappropriation of FXT investors’ funds. The prosecutors are seeking a punishment that matches the seriousness of the crimes, while Salame’s defense team argues for a maximum sentence of 18 months.
The prosecutors stated that Salame’s sentencing hearing, which pertains to his involvement in helping SBF misappropriate $10 billion of users’ funds, is scheduled for May 28. They emphasized that a substantial period of incarceration is necessary to effectively deter the defendant and others and to uphold the rule of law. Salame will be the first accomplice of SBF to be sentenced, as SBF himself was sentenced to 25 years in prison on April 1 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after being found guilty on seven felony charges.
Salame began working for Alameda Research in Hong Kong in 2019 and eventually became the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, a subsidiary of FTX based in the Bahamas. Other key figures involved in the FTX scam, such as Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, are still awaiting sentencing.
In response to the FTX case, numerous U.S. lawmakers are showing support for the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, a bill aimed at clarifying the roles of financial regulators in relation to digital assets. North Carolina Representative Wiley Nickel stated that this bill is crucial in preventing future incidents like the FTX collapse. He urged fellow lawmakers to back the bill, which would provide clarity on how the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulate cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, a documentary about the FTX collapse, priced at $2,500, is now available on Amazon Prime. The documentary received assistance from SBF’s mother during its production.