Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan joins the Live show to discuss the latest surrounding Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as reports that he will surrender to a U.S. extradition request.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly set to surrender to extradition. Yahoo Finance legal correspondent Alexis Keenan has the latest on this. Alexis.

ALEXIS KEENAN: Hi, Brian. Yes, now Bankman-Fried expected not to fight the extradition to the US that the US authorities are requesting to face the Department of Justice's set-- broad set, really, of eight criminal charges that were unsealed on Tuesday. Those accuse Bankman-Fried of defrauding both customers, investors, as well as lenders to FTX and its other entities and of campaign-finance violations for US laws.

This is coming from Reuters. Reuters also reporting that Bankman-Fried is expected to appear for a hearing today in Nassau, Bahamas, to formally waive extradition. Now, if he does, in fact, do that, it instead means that he will be escorted to the United States to appear. He would have to appear in court in Manhattan within two days. He'd be asked to enter a plea. He would also be dealing with whether he would get bail or not. Prosecutors, of course, would be expected to say no, he should remain in custody. He, on the other turn, would argue most likely that he should be able to be free on bail. That's something that the judge would have to consider.

Now what caused this about face after Bankman-Fried had planned to fight extradition? And mind you, those extradition fights, they can go on for a long time. They have gone well over a year, in some cases. It could be that the conditions inside the prison are not tolerable. This is a prison where Bankman-Fried is being held in the Bahamas. It's called Fox Hill. And recently in 2021, the US State Department has cited the facility for things like overcrowding as well as poor sanitation, supposedly rodent-infested, prisoners using buckets for toilets. So not a great place to be spending time. The Bahamas has said they have since improved those conditions.

But look, also during the week, we heard from FTX's now CEO John Ray testifying on Capitol Hill characterizing Bankman-Fried's handling of customer funds as, quote, "embezzlement." We also saw some court documents showing that FTX's digital markets CEO or co-CEO, Ryan Salame, had warned regulators in the Bahamas about the questionable transfers going between FTX and the hedge fund that Bankman-Fried also ran, Alameda.

But will Bahamas authorities-- will their prosecutors also fight to keep Sam Bankman-Fried there locally? That's another question that reporters are asking. The authorities there, they still have a securities-fraud investigation ongoing. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried has said he does not believe he has criminal liability.