Following the confirmation of the prison sentence for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Ryan Salame, who served in FTX's Bahamas unit and was the co-president of FTX Digital Markets, has become the second individual to be sentenced to prison in the case.
Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Salame to 7.5 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Prosecutors had requested a five-year prison sentence for Salame.
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In recent years, Ryan Salame was accused of making illegal contributions to campaigns in the United States and engaging in unlicensed money transfer activities.
Salame, who did not speak against Bankman-Fried, is known to have cooperated with prosecutors. The court also accused the senior executive of helping to conceal gaps in FTX's balance sheet and thereby contributing to the exchange's collapse. Additionally, records show that Salame withdrew approximately $5 million from FTX while the exchange was going bankrupt.
In his defense, Ryan Salame apologized to FTX customers and his family while insisting on his good intentions. However, he admitted that his methods were entirely illegal.
Verdict awaited for three other senior FTX executives In the ongoing case, attention has now turned to the sentences for three other senior FTX executives.
These executives are co-founder Gary Wang, chief technology officer Nishad Singh, and CEO of FTX's hedge fund Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison. All three executives accepted the charges and cooperated with prosecutors before the trial began, and as part of the agreement, they testified against Sam Bankman-Fried.
