US Prosecutors Accuse Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame of Connection to Chinese Bribery Scheme

Jimmy Aki
Last Updated:

Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.

Former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame faces a new legal challenge as U.S. prosecutors have linked him to an alleged bribery scheme involving Chinese officials.

This development adds to Salame’s ongoing legal woes following his guilty plea to campaign finance violations and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Ryan Salame’s Chinese Bribery Allegations and Legal Developments

Ryan Salame, who pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy charges, was sentenced to 90 months in prison.

Despite his guilty plea, a September 5 filing by U.S. Attorneys in the Southern District of New York reveals fresh allegations tying Salame to efforts to unfreeze crypto accounts associated with Alameda Research, a firm closely connected to FTX.

Prosecutors allege Salame participated in a scheme to bribe Chinese officials to regain access to $1 billion in frozen funds held by Huobi and OKX, two major cryptocurrency exchanges.

The scheme, allegedly orchestrated by Alameda Research, involved paying $150 million in bribes in 2021 to unlock the funds.
These new revelations came from a previously undisclosed conference call in April 2023 with Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

Additionally, prosecutors claim that Salame engaged in illicit activities involving the use of crypto accounts linked to individuals identified as Thai prostitutes, which were used for self-trading to further circumvent regulatory oversight.

Salame’s legal troubles are also entangled with his partner, Michelle Bond, a former U.S. House of Representatives candidate.

Prosecutors argue that Salame’s motion to vacate his guilty plea, which he filed in late August and later withdrew, was an attempt to shield Bond from ongoing investigations.

Salame had alleged that prosecutors used his plea deal to pressure him into pleading guilty in exchange for dropping their investigation into Bond.

However, U.S. Attorneys refuted this claim, stating that Bond’s case was separate and unaffected by Salame’s plea agreement.

In addition to his campaign finance violations and the bribery allegations, prosecutors assert that Salame “supervised efforts to pay bribes to immigration authorities,” although specific details remain undisclosed.

Further Complications and Upcoming Proceedings

Salame’s guilty plea and subsequent legal proceedings form part of the broader fallout from the collapse of FTX, which was led by its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.

Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud, has appealed his conviction. At the same time, former FTX executives Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang await sentencing after pleading guilty to various charges.

The court will address Salame’s case, including the bribery allegations, in a hearing on September 12, 2024.

Salame is set to begin his prison sentence on October 13, 2024, following a delay due to medical reasons.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.