NASSAU, Bahamas — After a confusing day in court, Sam Bankman-Fried has decided not to fight extradition to the United States, his attorneys announced yesterday, The Tribune reported on Tuesday, December 20.
“He has decided to waive his right to fight the extradition and he is going to go to the United States freely,” Krystal Rolle, KC, who represents Bankman-Fried on non-criminal matters, told The Tribune.
She said part of the reason the 30-year-old has agreed to be extradited is he believes he can be more helpful in the US in his quest to make FTX customers “whole”.
“I think the core issue is the fact that he wants to be as useful as he can in his pursuit to make customers whole and that is his ultimate objective and he wants to make sure that he can do all that he can to make that happen,” Ms Rolle said. “The extradition and the fight to a large extent would become the issue.”
Now his local attorneys are focused on preparing the necessary documents so the court can begin the extradition process, she said.
She added that Bankman-Fried appeared to be in good spirits and his decision making did not appear to be swayed by conditions at the prison in Fox Hill.
“He’s fine,” Ms Rolle said. “I’ve seen him a number of times over the past few days and he is in good spirits, he is in good health. He has been doing well each time that I’ve seen him and he is quite confident in his ability and desire to do all that he can to make this right.”
This came after a confusing hearing at Magistrate’s Court earlier yesterday where it was anticipated the former billionaire would waive his right to an extradition hearing. However during that hearing, one of his attorneys, Jerone Roberts, expressed surprise at his client’s appearance in court, claiming his legal team did not request to appear before the judge. See complete article in The Tribune at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2022/dec/20/Back-in-court/
