Sam Bankman-Fried will apparently receive no “special treatment” at the rat- and maggot-infested Bahamian prison where he is being imprisoned, and experts believe this may cause him to reconsider his plans to fight extradition to the United States.
According to sources, the 30-year-old accused crypto fraudster spent Wednesday night in the infirmary of the notorious Nassau jail Fox Hill, which human rights officials have deemed to provide poor medical and sanitary conditions for inmates.
Doan Cleare, the Caribbean nation’s acting prisons commissioner, refuted rumors that Bankman-Fried, a former billionaire who led a luxury lifestyle on the island before his FTX cryptocurrency platform collapsed last month, would be treated with kid gloves.
Instead, Cleare informed the Bahamian news source Eyewitness News that once Bankman-Fried is removed from doctor supervision, he will be placed in a “location comparable to everyone else’s.” According to Cleare, Bankman-Fried will share a room with five other offenders in a dormitory-style arrangement at Fox Hill.
Cleare also fought back against media accusations that the prison institution is inhumane.
On Monday, Bankman-Fried was arrested by police in the Bahamas.
Cleare informed the Nassau Guardian that his client is in good spirits. “He receives his medication on schedule. At this moment, only in-person attorney visits are permitted, along with American Embassy staff. All subsequent meetings will be conducted via videoconferencing.”
According to Cleare, prison officials have urged Bankman-family Fried’s to “bring in any special food that is required,” a reference to his family’s rumored request to feed him with vegan meals behind bars.
According to his attorney Jerone Roberts, Bankman-Fried addresses his depression with Emsam, a medicine supplied via a patch that must be replaced daily.
Human rights organizations and the United States Department of State have described the circumstances at Fox Hill jail as harsh.
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In addition, he takes 10 milligrams of the anti-allergy medication Zyrtec and 10 milligrams of the attention deficit disorder medication Adderall.
Attorneys believe that the severe prison circumstances at the Bahamian detention facility where Bankman-Fried is being held could force the disgraced FTX founder to abandon his legal battle against extradition to the United States to face federal fraud accusations.
According to reports, inmates at Fox Hill are denied appropriate sustenance and medical attention.
According to legal experts, the extradition procedure might drag on for months or even years, and Bankman-Fried is likely to conclude that he would be better off facing justice in the United States than languishing in a Bahamian jail cell.
Bruce Zagaris, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., told Bloomberg News: “It would be difficult for SBF to endure that for any length of time.” He will not receive preferential treatment from the inmates and guards, as he did at the Albany condominium.
“Eventually, he’ll ask, ‘I don’t want to spend another few years at this location; what are my options?’” Zagaris said.
Douglas McNabb, a Houston-based attorney, told Bloomberg News that Bankman-inability Fried’s to convince a judge to release him on bail was a significant setback.
According to prison officials, Bankman-Fried is currently residing in the infirmary and is in “excellent spirits.”
McNabb stated that it “causes a defendant to reconsider whether or not they want to appeal the case because they do not want to be sitting in a Bahamian jail.” This is a decision he will have to make.
Monday, police in the Bahamas detained Bankman-Fried, whose net wealth plummeted from approximately $20 billion a year ago to zero due to the failure of his bitcoin exchange.
A Bahamian court is scheduled to hear his case on February 8, after which he will be extradited to the United States, where federal authorities have issued an indictment accusing the former CEO of FTX of wire fraud, securities fraud, and other offenses. He will remain in jail until then.
Bankman-Fried will remain in detention until the February 8 extradition hearing.
The MIT graduate was remanded to Fox Hill after his request for $250,000 cash bail and an ankle tag to track his movements was denied.
In a report released in 2020, the US State Department criticized unhygienic conditions in the facility, including rat and maggot infestation. According to the report, detainees at the facility are given buckets as toilets and are refused sufficient medical attention.
Bloomberg earlier reported that Bankman-Fried was scheduled to have his own room in the medical block of the facility’s maximum security unit until his court hearing.
Bankman-Fried will not be permitted to receive guests due to lingering COVID-era limitations.
»Sam Bankman-Fried will not receive’special treatment’ at a prison in the Bahamas«