Bankman-Fried hearing to resume on Wednesday as extradition decision looms

A court hearing in the Bahamas in the case of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will resume on Wednesday as his extradition to the United States remains up in the air, a court official said.

Bankman-Fried faces U.S. fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.

Earlier on Tuesday, lawyer Jerone Roberts declined to comment as he departed court.

U.S. embassy officials earlier entered the Bahamas courthouse in Nassau, a Reuters witness said, but Bankman-Fried was not seen on Tuesday. A U.S. embassy vehicle that could transport the former billionaire was seen outside court, but it also departed.

A person with knowledge of Bankman-Fried's plans told Reuters earlier he had decided not to fight extradition to New York, where federal prosecutors last week charged him with using stolen FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.

Neither a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan nor Bankman-Fried's U.S. defence lawyer, Mark Cohen, immediately responded to requests for comment.

Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability.