SBF Denied Bail in The Bahamas, Will Remain in Fox Hill Prison

Following his arrest and detainment on Tuesday by Bahamian authorities, former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried has been denied bail and ordered to remain in a Bahamas jail, Fox Hill Prison, until February 8 next year.  

Bankman-Fried’s legal counsel had requested a $250,000 bail and suggested the former exchange CEO could wear an ankle-monitor to calm concerns he would try to flee the country, according to Cheyenne Ligon, a CoinDesk journalist who was present at the hearing. 

Judge JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt ultimately decided to deny the request on the grounds that Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk. The prosecuting lawyer had previously argued that detainment was a precondition of Bankman-Fried’s likely extradition to the US, where he is being sued by multiple regulators and the Southern District Court of New York. 

Bankman-Fried’s hearing had been adjourned until 2:15 p.m GMT while the court determined whether it had jurisdiction over bail, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

CoinDesk reporter Ligon also noted that Bankman-Fried appeared visibly jittery as the hearing began, only growing calmer after he was allowed to briefly leave the room in order to take his medication. Bankman-Fried is said to have been an active user of Emsam patches, an antidepressant that one FTX employee described as “a designer stimulant” that gave the former FTX chief “ a constant buzz all the time.”

To that end, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers attempted to make a case for his bail by arguing that he suffered from depression and insomnia. They also argued that he had every opportunity to run after FTX’s financial troubles were made public but had chosen not to do so.

“I don’t think I will be arrested,” Bankman-Fried had said in a Twitter space hosted by Unusual Whales just a few hours before he was taken into custody on Monday.

The FTX founder is facing a welter of charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud from U.S. federal prosecutors. Bankman-Fried plans to fight an extradition order from the U.S., his lawyer Jerome Roberts said during the hearing.