Former FTX Engineering Chief Nishad Singh Seeks Cooperation Deal in Cryptocurrency Exchange Fraud Case
Nishad Singh, a democrat megadonor, could offer insight into campaign finance allegations at FTX
Former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh recently met with federal prosecutors in a proffer session in a bid to become the third member of Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle to cooperate with authorities in the fraud case against the cryptocurrency exchange, according to published reports.
Singh, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, has made large political contributions to Democratic candidates and committees and has received hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from Alameda Research, according to bankruptcy court filings.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also probing Singh, according to the story initially reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts, while fellow insiders Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are working with authorities.
Singh's proffer session does not guarantee a cooperation agreement, and prosecutors must weigh the value of his information before deciding whether to offer him a deal that could see him plead guilty and cooperate in exchange for possible leniency. Aside from his political donations, Singh was a key figure in FTX’s management circle and decision making.
Alameda Research hired him in 2017 before establishing FTX two years later with Wang and Bankman-Fried. Singh helped write the software that the exchange was built on and contributed to the launch of FTX US in 2020. According to the report, Singh’s name was also tied to a GitHub account that created a code to hide Alameda’s ballooning liabilities in the lead up to FTX filing for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
As FTX began to crumble and an $8 billion hole emerged on its balance sheet, Ellison told her Alameda employees that she, Singh, Bankman-Fried and Wang were aware FTX funds had been used by the trading house, according to an SEC complaint. The SEC has filed civil charges against Ellison, Wang and Bankman-Fried over their roles in commingling funds and the alleged fraud at FTX and Alameda.