A former top FTX executive has been jailed for more than seven years for his role in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
Ryan Salame, 30, is the first company deputy to be sentenced following the conviction of his “crypto king” boss, Sam Bankman-Fried.
FTX suddenly went bankrupt in November 2022, leaving millions of users locked out of their accounts and unable to make withdrawals.
Bankman-Fried was imprisoned for 25 years in March after being found guilty of stealing billions of dollars from his clients.
Salame was sentenced Tuesday to seven and a half years in prison, plus three years of supervised release, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis Kaplan. This was more than the five years requested by prosecutors.
It came after he pleaded guilty last year to making illegal contributions to the US campaign and operating a money transmitting business without a license.
Minor financial crimes
Salame, who was with FTX’s Bahamas unit and was co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, did not testify against fried bankerbut said he had cooperated with investigators and provided documents to help prosecutors.
The court heard he helped the exchange boss hide holes in his balance sheet – which ultimately led to its collapse – and was also used as a conduit for making illegal campaign contributions hoping to influence US government policy on cryptocurrencies.
Bankman-Fried primarily made political contributions to Democrats and left-wing causes, while Salame made contributions to Republicans and right-wing causes.
However, the funds Salame used came from Bankman-Fried.
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Judge Kaplan described Salame’s actions as “astonishing” and said he “knew exactly what he was doing.”
He also criticized the defendant for withdrawing $5 million (£3.9 million) worth of cryptocurrency from FTX when the exchange was failing.
Judge Kaplan added: “He tried to withdraw tens of millions more. I went first. I’m going to get on the lifeboat first. To hell with all those clients.”
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Salame apologized to FTX clients and his family. He insisted that he had good intentions, but added: “I fully understand that the means I sought to achieve these objectives were illegal.”
Before being sentenced, Salame said he was “beginning my path to redemption” and added: “I accept what comes next.”
Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, has not yet been sentenced. Photo: Reuters
Three other high-level FTX executives are awaiting sentencing for their roles in its collapse.
These include co-founder Gary Wang and head of engineering Nishad Singh, along with Carolina Ellisonwho was Bankman-Fried’s on-again, off-again girlfriend and CEO of the hedge fund FTX Alameda Research.
All three cooperated with prosecutors and testified against Bankman-Fried at his trial in exchange for potentially suspended prison sentences.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
