A federal judge handed down a sentence of over seven years in prison to Ryan Salame, a former executive at FTX. This makes Salame the first lieutenant of cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried to receive jail time for their involvement in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in 2022.
Salame, a former high-ranking executive at FTX, had been with the exchange for a significant portion of its existence. He held the position of co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets until its eventual downfall. In the past year, Salame admitted guilt to charges of unlawfully making campaign contributions in the United States and running an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
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Salame was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison, along with three years of supervised release. This punishment exceeded the prosecution’s initial request of five to seven years, as stated in their pre-sentencing memo, which they had presented to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
Although Salame held a high-level position at FTX, he played a minor role in the government’s case against Bankman-Fried during the recent trial and did not testify against him. During the sentencing hearing, Salame claimed that he cooperated with the authorities and even offered documents that assisted the prosecutors in questioning Bankman-Fried and building their case against him. He also mentioned that these documents were helpful in his own prosecution and hoped for leniency as a result.
Salame played a crucial role not only in concealing the financial discrepancies in FTX, which eventually caused the exchange’s downfall but also in facilitating Bankman-Fried’s illicit campaign donations to influence cryptocurrency-related policies in the United States. While Bankman-Fried primarily directed his political contributions towards Democrats and causes with liberal leanings, Salame focused on donating to Republicans and causes leaning towards the right.
Salame ultimately utilized funds from Bankman-Fried for those contributions.
According to Kaplan, Salame had full awareness of his actions and intentionally attempted to conceal them from the public. Kaplan expressed his astonishment at this revelation.
Salame faced criticism from the judge for withdrawing $5 million in cryptocurrencies from FTX while the exchange was experiencing difficulties.
Kaplan asserted, “You attempted to withdraw tens of millions more. I prioritized myself. I will be the first to secure a spot in the lifeboat. I have no concern for the other customers.”
Salame expressed his apologies to FTX customers and his family, acknowledging that he and others had good intentions. However, he also admitted that he fully comprehends the fact that the methods he employed to achieve these goals were illegal.
Salame expressed his desire for redemption in a brief statement prior to his sentencing.
He confidently stated, “I embrace what lies ahead.”
Three additional top executives at FTX are currently anticipating their sentencing for their involvement in the downfall of the exchange. These individuals include Caroline Ellison, who served as the CEO of the FTX hedge fund Alameda Research, Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX, and Nishad Singh, who held the position of FTX’s head of engineering. All three of them collaborated with prosecutors and provided testimony during the trial against Bankman-Fried, in return for the possibility of having their prison sentences suspended.
