In a landmark case, Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, pleaded guilty Thursday for his part in the criminal conspiracy behind illegal campaign contributions to US politicians. Salame implied that tens of millions of dollars, originating from a hedge fund controlled by FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, were given to both Democrats and Republicans. In order to enter the plea bargain, he was ordered to forfeit up to $1.55 billion in assets. Furthermore, Salame may be subjected to testifying at the upcoming trial for Bankman-Fried, who was arrested last year intermittently upon flying to the Bahamas on a private jet only to be extradited to the United States to face crime charges.
Under rounds of intense questioning, Salame admitted that he had utilized huge chunks of capital towards underhanded campaign payments unrelated to Enlightenment or its affiliates, in a covert manner with Bankman-Fied. This latest development in the ongoing scandal blemishing FTX has further sensitized the public to the still unclear crinies in the multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency industry.
