Sam Bankman-Fried, the head of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has agreed to be extradited to the US to face charges, according to the BBC.
According to US authorities, the 30-year-old, who lives in the Bahamas, is accused of “one of the largest financial frauds in US history”.
A source close to Mr Bankman-Fried, who denies the allegations, told the BBC he had agreed to extradition.
FTX has filed for bankruptcy, leaving many people unable to withdraw funds.
FTX owed nearly $3.1bn (£2.5bn) to its top 50 creditors, according to a court filing.
It is not clear when Mr Bankman-Fried will be extradited to the US following his December 12 arrest.
One of the most serious allegations against him is that he used billions of dollars in client funds to prop up his investment trading company Alameda.
- The US says FTX scam is “one of the biggest” in its history
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- The Case of “King of Cryptography” Sam Bankman-Fried
Last week, Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Mr Bankman-Fried had been charged with one of the biggest fraud counts in US history.
The FTX founder has also been accused of using “tens of millions” in ill-gotten gains to make illegal campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans alike, Mr. Williams said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the man formerly nicknamed the “King of Crypto” built a “house of cards on a foundation of deception.”
However, Mr Bankman-Fried has tried to distance himself from allegations of illegal activity, saying in an interview with BBC News before his arrest: “I did not knowingly commit fraud. I don’t think I committed fraud. I didn’t mean to. I certainly wasn’t anywhere near as competent as I thought it would be.”
Mr. Bankman-Fried has also denied claims that he must have known Alameda Research was using FTX client funds.
The FTX exchange allowed customers to trade regular money for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies are not traditional currencies but are stored online and behave more like investment vehicles or securities – often with high volatility.
FTX had an estimated 1.2 million registered users using the exchange, but many have wondered if they will ever get their money trapped in FTX’s digital wallets back.
Once thought to be the young version of legendary US investor Warren Buffett, Mr. Bankman-Fried had an estimated net worth of more than $15 billion at the end of October.
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