FTX exec Ryan Salame’s prison sentence has been shortened by over a year, with his new release date set for March 2031.
Ryan Salame, a former top executive at the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, reported to federal prison in October to begin serving his 7.5-year sentence for his role in the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried‘s multi-billion-dollar crypto empire.
However, according to a Business Insider report, Salame’s release date has suddenly been moved up by more than a year. Federal Bureau of Prisons records show that Salame is now set to be released on March 1, 2031, just over a year earlier than his original sentence.
Salame pleaded guilty to criminal charges in May 2023 and began his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland. He was deeply involved in Bankman-Fried’s operations and was among other FTX executives who pleaded guilty in connection with the fraud scheme. While the exact reason behind the sentence shortage remains unclear, the report noted that Salame’s attorneys didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In 2019, Ryan Salame became a part of Alameda Research after connecting with Bankman-Fried at a blockchain conference. Alameda Research was FTX’s hedge fund, using its own technology and trading platform to trade thousands of digital assets, including major coins, non-fungible tokens, and altcoins. Salame also became the CEO of FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary.
In 2022, FTX crashed due to mismanagement of funds, lack of liquidity and the large volume of withdrawals. FTX filed for bankruptcy as it couldn’t handle all of its customer transactions due to “low liquidity.”
Furthermore, the exchange spent customer funds illegally, as well as illegally funded loans and projects of Alameda research. Prosecutors claim that Salame helped FTX accept customer deposits through a U.S. bank account without having the required licenses.
