'Not Fit for Humanity:' Here's the Prison Disgraced Dem Donor Sam Bankman-Fried May Spend 2 Months In
There’s only one game in town for those who break the law in the Bahamas — the notorious Fox Hill detention center. Unfortunately for disgraced FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, he may be calling this facility home for the next two months.
Considering Bankman-Fried to be a flight risk, a Nassau judge denied his request for $250,000 bail at a Tuesday hearing and ordered he be held at the Fox Hill prison until his next scheduled court appearance on Feb. 8.
The Daily Mail reported the facility was “infested with rodents and maggots, sexual assaults were prevalent and drugs were easy to come by.” One prison official said violence is so common that inmates are afraid to leave their cells to shower, according to the report. Additionally, the Mail noted that in 2019, Fox Hill was described as “not being fit for humanity.”
Overcrowding is also a problem. Built to hold 1,200 inmates, there are typically twice that number, the report said.
Local attorney Romona Farquarhson spoke exclusively to the Mail. She believes it’s “very likely” that Bankman-Fried will be “granted a hearing at the Bahamas’ Supreme Court, where he could still be given bail prior to Feb. 8.”
She also said that rather than being held in the “general population,” it’s likely he will be held in Fox Hill’s remand center.
SBF is currently held in Fox Hill Prison, the only jail facility in The Bahamas.
It’s horrid – here’s more about it. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/UFU2KRD8BO
— The Chainsaw (@chainsawdotcom) December 13, 2022
Reporting on the unsanitary conditions inside Fox Hill, The Wall Street Journal cited a human-rights study conducted in 2021 by the U.S. State Department. According to the Journal, “Fox Hill inmates reported removing human waste by buckets and developing bed sores from lying on the bare ground.”
The Journal also spoke to Farquharson, who explained that the facility makes an effort to separate the most violent inmates from the others. That said, there have been times “some inmates awaiting trial for minor crimes have been sent to the maximum-security facility.”
She told the Journal, “I think they’ve got to be careful not to have him in really rough areas in the prison.”
1. According to The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ), Fox Hill Prison is known for its unsanitary conditions.
A 2021 human rights report described it as “harsh” due to “overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, and inadequate medical care”. #SBF_FTX pic.twitter.com/98caG7o3Ar
— The Chainsaw (@chainsawdotcom) December 13, 2022
Numerous photographs showing the conditions at the correctional facility can be viewed here.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the eight charges against Bankman-Fried include “two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. … [one count of] conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, [one count of] conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and [one count of] conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit campaign finance violations, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years.”
The 30-year-old former crypto king has indicated he will fight extradition to the U.S., according to a Bloomberg report.
It’s impossible to predict what the future holds for Bankman-Fried, but after two months in Fox Hill, he’ll likely be begging for extradition to the U.S.
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