Nishad Singh, co-founder and former chief engineer of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is working on a plea deal with prosecutors, Bloomberg reported Feb. 17. The deal, which would see Singh, 27, plead guilty to charges related to the bankruptcy of FTX, has yet to be finalized, according to the report.
Singh would follow in the footsteps of former FTX CTO, Gary Wang, and the former CEO of Alameda, Caroline Ellison, who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in December after reaching a plea deal. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight federal charges and currently lives with his parents in California.
Singh, a childhood friend of Sam’s brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, was the author of some of the FTX software and one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s penthouse roommates in the Bahamas. Bankman-Fried told a Vox reporter shortly after the FTX collapse that Singh was “scared” and “embarrassed and guilty” about the event.
SCOOP w/ the wonderful@avabmorrison. Nishad Singh, another former member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle is planning to plead guilty to fraud charges. pic.twitter.com/ESrYhORQrw
—Ally Versprille (@allyversprille) February 17, 2023
Singh was one of the longest-hidden FTX leaders, but he reappeared the first week of January at an arraignment session at the attorney’s office for the southern district of New York. In a solicitation session, a person may be granted limited immunity to share his or her knowledge with prosecutors.
Federal criminal charges are only part of Singh’s legal concerns. Singh and other members of FTX’s inner circle were subpoenaed on February 14 in a class action lawsuit against venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and venture capital firms Thoma Bravo and Paradigm.
Ellison and Wang have settled cases brought against them by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but Singh could also be the subject of actions brought by these bodies. Among the allegations against Bankman-Fried are campaign finance violations. Singh was also a major contributor to America’s Democratic candidates and causes, reportedly donating $9.3 million since 2020.
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