Sam Bankman-Fried was so successful when his FTX crypto trading company soared, that he once had a fortune of USD 32 billion. Now he is caught by the police and thrown in a prison that is called disgusting.
As reported, Bankman was accused of embezzling FTX customer funds for spree and investment in another company, Alameda Research. Currently, he is being held in a Bahamas prison which is known to be infested with rats and maggots, so bad that the wardens have labeled him 'unfit for humans'.
Bankman was being held in Nassau's only penitentiary, Fox Hill prison, until at least February 8 after failing to secure bail while fighting extradition to the United States. Bankman had been living in the Bahamas.
The prison was the focus of a report last year by the US Department of State about possible human rights abuses, including violence and abuse by staff.
"Inmates dispose of human excrement in buckets," says a government report of the prison, where often up to six inmates are crammed into a minuscule cell.
Conditions are harsh due to overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, and minimal medical care. The Guardian media once wrote that they saw rats in person while on tour in 2019, with a warden confirming the rats were running up and down all day. In fact, he said, even dogs do not deserve to live there.
So bad that some inmates have begged for extradition to the US just to avoid it. In 2019, a pastor waived his right to fight extradition to Georgia, where he was eventually jailed for life for child rape, out of fear of being killed by a gang in a brutal prison in the Bahamas.
Many argue that Bankman, who has indicated he plans to fight extradition, should do the same, even though he faces a maximum of 115 years in prison if convicted on eight federal charges.
"There is no advantage to him staying, he will be sent to the US anyway," said Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, which advises those convicted of white-collar crimes.