Former FTX executive Nishad Singh in talks to plead guilty to fraud charges

Former FTX executive Nishad Singh is reportedly negotiating a guilty plea deal with Manhattan prosecutors over his involvement in fraud charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse last November.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Singh may plead guilty to the charges, putting additional pressure on FTX’s former CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who pleaded not guilty to an eight-charge indictment related to the bankrupt exchange.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission are reportedly considering pressing additional charges against Singh for involvement with FTX.

Singh was the former head of engineering at FTX and had a close relationship with Bankman-Fried, who was his housemate at a Bahamas penthouse.

He received a US$543 million personal loan from Alameda Research, according to filings from the FTX bankruptcy estate, now headed by John J. Ray III.

FTX co-founder Gary Wang and the former CEO of FTX’s sister trading firm Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, have pleaded guilty to related charges for their involvement in the firm’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12 at the request of U.S. authorities, who accuse him of fraud. He is currently under house arrest at his parents’ residency in California, with his first trial date set for October 2, 2023.

If Singh accepts the deal with the prosecutors, he could further implicate Bankman-Fried in the case. The development could also have implications for the wider cryptocurrency industry, with authorities continuing to clamp down on fraudulent activities in the space.