FTX Scandal Deepens: Sam Bankman-Fried's Right-Hand Man Nishad Singh to Plead Guilty to Fraud
Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering for collapsed crypto exchange FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried's right-hand man, is preparing to reach a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors
According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, the former FTX executive is planning to plead guilty to fraud charges for his role in the alleged scheme. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said the move comes as Manhattan prosecutors prepare to file fraud charges against Singh.
The plea deal is likely to include Singh cooperating with authorities, which could further isolate Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to an eight-count indictment and is awaiting trial. The deal with Singh still has to be finalized.
Among the other executives of FTX and its sister companies, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has agreed to plead guilty to seven offenses, which include charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.
Likewise, Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with federal investigators.
The report added that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, two top US market regulators, plan to sue Singh over his role in the alleged scheme.
Singh, 27, played a major role in the day-to-day operations at FTX as head of engineering. He initially joined Alameda back in 2017 before establishing FTX two years later with Wang and Bankman-Fried.
Notably, he is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he met his longtime girlfriend, Claire Watanabe, who would later join FTX as its head of marketing and HR.
FTX and its group of crypto companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in
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