Nishad Singh, the former engineering chief for failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday. Multiple FTX executives have now pleaded guilty, applying more pressure on disgraced CEO and Democrat super donor Sam Bankman-Fried.
The six charges against Singh included conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws, according to a report by CNBC.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (second on left) is led away in handcuffs by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas, on December 13, 2022. (MARIO DUNCANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Today’s guilty plea underscores once again that the crimes at FTX were vast in scope and consequence,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “They rocked our financial markets with a multibillion dollar fraud.”
“And they corrupted our politics with tens of millions of dollars in illegal straw campaign contributions,” Williams added. “These crimes demand swift and certain justice and that is exactly what we are seeking in the Southern District of New York.”
Singh’s lawyers said that “Nishad is deeply sorry for his role in this and has accepted responsibility for his actions.”
“He wants to do everything he can to make things right for victims, including by assisting the government to the best of his ability in this case,” they added.
On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed related civil complaints against the former FTX engineering chief.
Singh is the latest member of the former FTX leadership team to agree to a plea deal.
In December, Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda Research, both pleaded guilty to federal offenses in the Southern District of New York.
Alameda Research was disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried hedge fund, which had reportedly loaned $4.1 billion in customer funds to Bankman-Fried and his closest business partners.
In November, FTX collapsed shortly after Bankman-Fried told investors that the company was facing a major shortfall of up to $8 billion from withdrawal requests and needed emergency funding.
After that, the cryptocurrency exchange company filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried announced his resignation, adding that Alameda Research would be shutting down.
In December, Bankman-Fried was charged with eight criminal accounts, including securities fraud and money laundering. Last month, the disgraced FTX founder and Democrat super donor was hit with four more charges relating to commodities fraud and making unlawful political contributions.
In January, the 30-year-old pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court.
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