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Ryan Salame, part of the ‘inner circle’ of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, sentenced to prison
A federal judge has sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to more than seven years in prison
From
KEN SWEET AP Business Writer
May 28, 2024, 2:17 pm ET
• 3 minute reading
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former FTX executive Ryan Salame to more than seven years in prison, the first of failed cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried’s lieutenants to receive prison time for his role in the cryptocurrency collapse exchange in 2022.
Salame, 30, was a high-ranking executive at FTX for much of its existence and, until its collapse, was co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets. Last year he pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions in the US and operating an unlicensed money transfer business.
The 7 1/2-year prison sentence, plus three years of supervised release, was more than the five to seven years that prosecutors asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to impose on Salame in their pre-sentencing memo.
Although Salame was a high-level executive at FTX, he did not play a major role in the government’s case against Bankman-Fried during his trial earlier this year and did not testify against him. In a bid for leniency, Salame said during the sentencing hearing that he cooperated and even provided documents that aided prosecutors in cross-examining Bankman-Fried, as well as in his own prosecution.
In addition to helping Bankman-Fried hide the holes in FTX’s balance sheet that ultimately led to the exchange’s failure, Salame was used as a conduit by Bankman-Fried to make illegal campaign contributions to help shape U.S. cryptocurrency policy . On the surface, Bankman-Fried primarily made political contributions to Democrats and liberal-leaning causes, while Salame made contributions to Republicans and right-wing causes.
But ultimately the funds Salame used for those contributions came from Bankman-Fried.
Kaplan said Salame “knew exactly what he was doing… and the idea was to hide it from the world. Amazing!”
The judge also reprimanded Salame for withdrawing $5 million in cryptocurrency from FTX while the exchange was failing.
“You tried to withdraw tens of millions more,” Kaplan said. “It was me first. First I get into the lifeboat. Damn all those customers.”
Salame apologized to FTX customers and his family, saying he and others had good intentions, although he added: “I fully understand that the means I sought to achieve these goals were illegal.”
Before being sentenced, Salame made brief remarks saying he was “beginning my path to redemption.”
“I accept what comes next,” he said.
Three other top FTX executives are awaiting sentencing for their roles in the stock market crash: Caroline Ellison, who was CEO of FTX’s Alameda Research hedge fund, Gary Wang, FTX co-founder, and Nishad Singh, head of FTX sector. engineering. All three cooperated with prosecutors and testified at Bankman-Fried’s trial in exchange for potentially suspended prison sentences.
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Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.