Ex-crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried out on $250m bail after extradition from Bahamas

The fallen crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was freed on $250m bail on Thursday, a day after agreeing to be extradited from the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried appeared gaunt and tired in a dark blue suit and ankle chains a day after being transferred from Bahamian to FBI custody and flown directly to an airport north of New York City.

Under the bail agreement, Bankman-Fried will be monitored via an ankle bracelet. He was required to surrender his passport and to agree to mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Ellison pleaded guilty to seven charges of defrauding customers and investors of both FTX and Alameda, according to the agreement. The charges against her carry a maximum penalty of up to 110 years. As part of the plea deal, she was released on a $250,000 bond.

In court, prosecutors said they had a dozen cooperating witnesses in the case so far and access to encrypted text messages sent between employees.

The complaint underscores the picture given by multiple investigations of a tight link between Alameda, which had no outside investors, and FTX. The two companies shared bank accounts and key staff members, commingled funds and were both ultimately under the direct control of Bankman-Fried, according to the complaint, despite the nominal authority of Ellison, his sometime girlfriend.