Ex-FTX executive Salame due in U.S. court for expected guilty plea

Salame's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, stole billions in FTX customer deposits to plug losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research, and lied to investors and lenders about his companies' financial condition.

Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX's Bahamian subsidiary, is due for a "proceeding of interest" in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, federal prosecutors said. Such appearances normally suggest a defendant has reached a plea deal. Salame is appearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the same judge overseeing indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case over the exchange's collapse.

When asked for comment, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan confirmed Salame would appear at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). Salame's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, stole billions in FTX customer deposits to plug losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research, and lied to investors and lenders about his companies' financial condition. Bankman-Fried, a 31-year-old former billionaire, rode a boom in the values of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several times over and an influential U.S. political donor before his exchange collapsed amid a flurry of customer withdrawals.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges over FTX's collapse. Salame worked for Ernst & Young and Circle Internet Financial before joining FTX Digital Markets - the exchange's Bahamas unit - in 2021, according to a profile on the University of Massachusetts Amherst website, where he established a scholarship fund.

Days before FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO, Salame informed the Securities Commission of the Bahamas - the Caribbean nation's financial regulator - that client assets held at FTX Digital Markets may have been transferred to Alameda, according to a court filing by the agency. Salame was also one of the top political donors in the 2022 election cycle, donating more than $23 million to Republican campaigns, according to OpenSecrets.