Judge Spares Former FTX Head Nishad Singh From Prison Time

Former FTX's head of engineering, Nishad Singh, has been spared prison time for his involvement in the exchange's collapse.

On Wednesday, New York Judge Lewis Kaplan praised Singh's cooperation with the government, describing it as "remarkable."

Initially facing a maximum sentence of 75 years, Singh convinced the judge that his involvement with the exchange's fraud was far more limited than Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) or Caroline Ellison, who received 25 years and 2 years behind bars respectively.

Instead, Singh was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release as well as being ordered to forfeit $11 billion. Last year, Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws.

Andrew Goldstein, Singh’s attorney, emphasized that Singh was less involved in the core conspiracy, only becoming aware of Alameda Research’s unauthorized use of FTX customer funds in September 2022, close to FTX’s collapse.

Singh admitted to the court that he strayed from his values and did not expect forgiveness but claimed cooperating with the government gave him purpose. Prosecutors credited Singh's cooperation, revealing he provided crucial information, including insights into an undiscovered campaign finance scheme, through 24 meetings with investigators.

Singh showed “earnest remorse and eagerness to assist,” as well as “brought to the Government’s attention criminal conduct that the Government was not aware of and, in some cases, may have never discovered but for Singh’s cooperation,” prosecutors highlighted.

Prosecutor Nicolas Roos stated that the government was "completely unaware" of the campaign finance scheme and that it was Singh who "exclusively brought" its details to them.

Over 100 individuals submitted letters supporting Singh, including one from SBF's brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried, who described him as “one of the kindest people [he has] ever known.” He urged Judge Kaplan to extend to Singh “the same compassion he has shown others his entire life.”

Earlier this week, FTX reached a $228 million cash settlement from Bybit involving $175 million in assets held in Bybit accounts and Bybit agreeing to purchase 105.4 million FTX debtor's BIT tokens for $52.7 million.

This agreement, as the settlement states, "allows the Debtors to recover significant value for their illiquid and difficult-to-monetize holdings of a volatile asset."