Nassau, Bahamas

Hours after Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer told a Bahamas judge that he was not ready to be extradited to United States, a Reuters report says that the FTX founder has decided to agree to it to face fraud charges.

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This sudden turnaround means that the 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul is to face charges in New York over accusations that he stole billions from FTX customers to plug losses at Alameda Research, his hedge fund before the exchange abruptly collapsed in November.

Read now | Democrats to set aside donations from ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

But it was not clear when he would depart the Bahamas, where he was arrested on December 12, per a US extradition request. No further court date was set at the conclusion of Monday's hearing. However, his lawyer Mark Cohen and the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

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This abrupt decision seemed surprising after his much-publicised appearance on Monday morning before Magistrate Shaka Serville at a court in the capital Nassau and over the weekend where he had decided to reverse his decision to contest extradition.

Read now | Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO charged with defrauding investors: All you need to know

Bankman-Fried rode a boom in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several times over and an influential political donor in the United States until FTX collapsed in early November after a wave of withdrawals. The exchange declared bankruptcy on November 11. Though he has in a way acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, he, however, had declared that he does not believe he has criminal liability.

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At his hearing on Monday, he wore a dark blue jacket and an untucked white shirt, a clear departure from the casual attire he had sported during frequent public appearances in the United States and while running FTX from a ritzy corner of Nassau.

A day after his arrest, on December 13, Bankman-Fried was taken to a Bahamas correctional facility.

Watch | FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is 'ready to face music?'

After Monday's hearing, his criminal defense lawyer in the Bahamas, Roberts, told the New York Times that his client had agreed to be voluntarily extradited and that he hoped Bankman-Fried would be back in court later this week.

Another lawyer, Krystal Rolle, who has represented Bankman-Fried on non-criminal matters in the Bahamas, also confirmed comments that Roberts had made earlier to local broadcaster Eyewitness News Bahamas that Bankman-Fried would voluntarily waive his right to an extradition hearing.

(With inputs from agencies)

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