FTX Collapse: Salame Requests Lenient Sentence, Claims Innocence

• FTX’s Ryan Salame seeks an 18-month time period, citing cooperation with authorities.
• Authorized group says Salame’s life and profession are already deeply impacted by the FTX scandal.
• His request comes after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried obtained a 25-year sentence.

Ryan Salame, a former government on the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency alternate FTX, has requested a lenient 18-month jail sentence in reference to the fraud case surrounding the corporate’s collapse. Salame, who pleaded responsible to legal fraud prices, is searching for leniency based mostly on his cooperation with legislation enforcement and his allegedly lesser position in FTX’s operations.

On Tuesday, Salame’s authorized group filed a sentencing memorandum outlining his duties at FTX and Alameda Analysis. The memorandum emphasizes that Salame’s duties primarily centered on operational duties resembling overseeing buyer wire deposits, fiat foreign money conversions, and main charitable efforts within the Bahamas. His attorneys argue that this distanced him for the core fraudulent actions that in the end led to the collapse of FTX.

The memorandum maintains that Salame was unaware of the alleged conspiracy amongst FTX and Alameda’s high management to mislead and steal from prospects. “Mr. Salame didn’t steal from anybody. He didn’t deceive prospects,” his attorneys acknowledged. 

Salame’s authorized group additional asserts that he was himself deceived by his colleagues. Upon realizing the alleged fraud’s scope, Salame was reportedly the primary to inform Bahamian authorities, transpiring their investigation into FTX.

Salame’s cooperation reportedly prolonged to voluntarily offering essential paperwork to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace voluntarily, with out requiring a subpoena. His attorneys additionally spotlight the continued media scrutiny and public criticism Salame faces as a type of lifelong punishment. They argue that his affiliation with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX will completely injury his future employment prospects.

The request for leniency, comes after a federal courtroom within the U.S. sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years imprisonment for his position within the FTX fraud case. Like Salame, different former FTX executives, together with Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, have additionally pleaded responsible to prices. They’re reportedly negotiating plea offers with U.S. authorities in alternate for diminished sentences.