Former high-level FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty Thursday to two criminal charges related to the swift downfall of his former company.
Salame, who ran FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary as co-CEO until its November collapse, pleaded guilty to one charge each of violating campaign finance laws and operating an illegal money-transmitting business.
He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the charges.
Salame also agreed that if he fails to forfeit assets including $6 million, two properties, and a Porsche 911 Turbo, he’ll have to forfeit $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Salame’s guilty plea follows those of three other former FTX executives — FTX co-founder Gary Wang, Chief Engineering Officer Nishad Singh, and sister company Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison — and comes six weeks ahead of FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. Bankman-Fried, facing several fraud charges, has pleaded not guilty.
Unlike Ellison, Wang and Singh, however, Salame did not promise to testify against Bankman-Fried in his plea deal.
Salame began working at Alameda in 2019, and became co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets in 2021, according to his LinkedIn. Between 2021 and 2022, he donated $24 million in Alameda money to political candidates.
“At the time, I knew it was prohibited by campaign finance laws to make contributions in my name with money that wasn’t my own,” Salame said in court, according to Bloomberg.
While the money was taken as a loan from Alameda, he never intended to return the funds, he said.
“Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Thursday. “Today’s guilty plea reflects the commitment I made in December that my Office would continue to pursue swift justice against individuals at FTX and its affiliates who engaged in criminal conduct.”
Salame’s sentencing is set for March 6.
