Nassau, Bahamas CNN —
The extradition proceedings for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeared to have stalled as his Bahamian attorney and local prosecutors argued bitterly in court on Monday.
Prosecutors said there was an agreement with Bankman-Fried’s US attorneys to allow his extradition to the United States to face federal charges. But Bankman-Fried’s Bahamian attorney, Jerone Roberts, said he himself was not a part of that arrangement.
Roberts claimed prosecutors wouldn’t share the US indictment with him and he shouldn’t have to search the internet for it. In response, prosecutor Franklyn Williams dismissed Roberts’ allegation, saying it was “unbelievable.”
Bankman-Fried was expected to drop his extradition fight and clear a significant hurdle to bring him back to US soil to face criminal charges on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges.
But Monday’s hearing left observers in the dark about what happens next.
At the end of the hearing, the frustrated judge overseeing the case cleared the courtroom so Bankman-Fried could call his US attorneys in the presence of his Bahamian attorney.
Bankman-Fried was then returned to the Bahamian prison, where he has been held for a week. No future court date was set at Monday’s hearing.
His US legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for his lawyers declined to give details of the timeline earlier in the day, saying it is “difficult to give details while relying on the Bahamian courts.”
Bankman-Fried originally planned to fight efforts to bring him back to the United States. But after a week in Nassau’s notorious Fox Hill prison, he seems less keen on continuing what will likely take years to avoid extradition.
The US State Department reported that conditions are harsh at Fox Hill, the Bahamian jail where Bankman-Fried has been held since his arrest last Monday. The report criticized the prison for overcrowding, poor nutrition and inadequate sanitation and medical care. Overcrowded cells often lack mattresses and were “infested with rats, maggots and insects,” according to the 2021 report.
Bankman-Fried is expected to seek bail again once in US custody. If he was denied bail, he would be held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, New York. Inmates, lawyers and human rights activists say conditions at the facility, which mainly houses suspected innocent suspects, are also inhumane, citing overcrowding, frequent heating failures and overall poor sanitation conditions.
At Monday’s hearing, tensions between Bankman-Fried’s attorney and prosecutors from the Bahamian government began to spill over.
Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Jerone Roberts, told the court he was not advised to speak to his client.
“Things are moving prematurely and without my involvement,” Roberts said.
Bahamian prosecutors accused Roberts of using “harsh tactics.”
The judge in charge, Shaka Serville, finally cleared the courtroom so Bankman-Fried could speak privately with his attorneys.
Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old former crypto celebrity, was arrested at his luxury residence in the Bahamas a week ago. Federal prosecutors in New York charged him with eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy charges, alleging he defrauded customers and investors of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded in 2019.
In a series of media interviews since FTX filed for bankruptcy last month, Bankman-Fried has acknowledged management errors and denied knowingly defrauding customers or investors.