Former FTX Director of Engineering Nishad Singh Negotiates Plea Deal with Prosecutors –
Another member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle is reportedly planning to plead guilty to criminal charges over his role in the alleged scam on cryptocurrency exchange FTX. According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Nishad Singh, FTX’s former chief technical officer, is trying to negotiate a deal with the New York City Attorney’s Office.
Sources say the former FTX director of technology is close to the plea deal, Singh could make a critical statement
On Friday, Bloomberg reporter Allyson Versprille reported that Nishad Singh, the former technical director at FTX, is negotiating a deal with federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Two others in Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, Caroline Ellison, ex-CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, have already pleaded guilty to charges related to the multi-year scam allegedly at work since 2019 FTX has taken place.
Unknown sources familiar with the matter told Versprille about the agreement, and the reporter noted that the deal with Singh was not finalized. The Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) declined to comment on the alleged deal, and Versprille also noted that a representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. If Singh cooperates with authorities against Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO will be outnumbered as Wang and Ellison are already cooperating with authorities.
Bankman-Fried is awaiting trial scheduled for October 3, 2023, and prosecutors have sought to limit his use of certain types of electronic devices. The reason for the prosecution’s crackdown on the use of certain electronics is that Bankman-Fried was found to be using a VPN in January and February 2023. While the judge has restricted the former FTX exec’s use of end-to-end encrypted messenger services like Signal, no decision has yet been made to restrict use of other forms of electronics like VPNs.
Bankman-Fried faces more than 100 years in prison for the crimes he is accused of and has pleaded not guilty to the eight counts. The FTX co-founder was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Dec. 13, 2022, and SDNY attorney Damian Williams stated that he was charged with “fraud, money laundering and campaign finance crimes.” Singh played a critical role in FTX’s engineering and infrastructure and was originally hired by Alameda Research in 2017. Two years later, Singh began working closely with Bankman-Fried and top lieutenants at FTX.
If Singh makes a deal and pleads guilty, he will be the third member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to do so. It is not known if other FTX or Alameda employees are working with federal prosecutors. SDNY Chief Prosecutor Williams has twice mentioned that anyone who played a role in the FTX collapse who did not come forward should do so before authorities knock on their door. “If you have been involved in wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to preempt it,” Williams said after revealing that Wang and Ellison were both cooperating.
What are your thoughts on the potential impact of Nishad Singh’s cooperation with the authorities? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section below.
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Source: Crypto News Deutsch
