FTX Founder Released on Largest Bail in U.S. History

The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and former CEO, 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried, has been released on a bail of $250 million. His parents provided sureties that he would remain under house arrest at their home in Palo Alto, California, according to reports from dw.com.

As noted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos in Manhattan Federal Court, this is the largest bail paid in U.S. history at the federal level during the pre-trial phase.

Bankman-Fried is suspected of engaging in "epic-scale" fraud, Roos added.

A key argument in favor of bail approval was that the businessman, who was arrested last week in the Bahamas at the request of Washington, agreed to extradition to the U.S., said the assistant prosecutor. He has been fitted with an electronic ankle monitor.

The conditions of the bail prohibit him from opening lines of credit, starting a new business, and making financial transactions exceeding $1,000 without the approval of the U.S. government or the court.

Two of Bankman-Fried's closest associates have also been charged and have already pleaded guilty, AP reports.

In early November, FTX announced on Twitter that it had filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO Bankman-Fried resigned. The case has become one of the largest in U.S. history, with at least one million customers losing access to their funds.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors.

In September, Forbes estimated the businessman's wealth at $17.2 billion, declaring him one of the richest entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency sector.