Former FTX executive Nishad Singh is reportedly in talks to plead guilty to fraud charges related to his involvement in the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.com.
According to Bloomberg, unnamed sources familiar with the matter say that Singh is negotiating a deal with Manhattan prosecutors, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission also considering pressing additional charges against him.
If Singh accepts the deal, it could place additional pressure on former FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to an eight-charge indictment related to the exchange’s collapse.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022 and is currently under house arrest at his parents’ residence in California, with his first trial date set for October 2023.
Singh, who was the former head of engineering at FTX, reportedly had a close relationship with Bankman-Fried, as the two were housemates at a Bahamian penthouse.
Singh had joined Alameda Research in 2017 before becoming head of engineering at FTX. According to FTX bankruptcy estate filings, he received a personal loan of $543 million from Alameda Research.
FTX co-founder Gary Wang and the former CEO of FTX’s sister trading firm, Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, have already pleaded guilty to related charges in connection with FTX’s collapse.
