Investing

Noose Tightening Around SBF's Inner Circle as US Probes Nishad Singh

Tim Fries

Published: January 6, 2023 3:03 am

Last Updated: January 6, 2023 12:06 pm

According to a Thursday report, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating Nishad Singh parallel with probes into FTX’s former chief engineer undertaken by the SEC and the CFTC. Singh is one of the last members of SBF’s “Wirefraud” Signal group that has not yet been apprehended by the authorities.

Nishad Singh Investigated by the US Authorities

Nishad Singh, who has served as the director of engineering for FTX and Alameda Research, is the only member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle that has not yet been accused of any wrongdoings by US authorities. According to a Thursday report, this might change soon as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York launched an investigation into Singh’s role in alleged fraud committed by FTX executives.

Singh, who was, much like Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, a housemate of SBF, is also reportedly being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Late in 2022, it was reported that both Wang and Ellison pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the authorities.

Ellison already confirmed that Alameda Research not only facilitated loans worth billions of dollars to FTX’s executives, but helped hide these loans from regulators, investors, and customers. Furthermore, due to his long-standing relationship with Bankman-Fried, Wang’s cooperation is considered by many to be particularly troublesome for SBF’s defense.

Sam Bankman-Fried Continues to Claim Innocence, Set to Stand Trial in October

Unlike Wang and Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing on January 3rd. Before his arrest in the Bahamas, the fallen billionaire went on what has widely been termed the “apology tour” in which he repeatedly admitted to making mistakes but maintained that he believes he hasn’t committed any crimes.

One of Bankman-Fried’s common claims from the time was that he had little insight or control over the workings of FTX’s sister company Alameda Research. A report that came out late last year gave strong indications the claim is not true, while Ellison’s testimony apparently completely discredited this statement.

The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange also has widespread ramifications on the wider digital asset industry, although many believe that the FTX contagion is only just beginning. Since late last year, Silvergate Capital, an organization with close connections to FTX prior to its bankruptcy, has recently come under increasing pressure. In mid-December, it became a target of a class-action lawsuit for its involvement with SBF’s firm, and reports from early January indicate that it is facing a bank run worth billions of dollars.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist