Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) has been sentenced to 25 years in jail for stealing $US8 billion from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
SBF was also ordered to forfeit $US11 billion in assets.
It comes after he was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in November.
Prosecutors call it one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.
Why was Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to jail?
SBF’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX, then one of the world’s largest, filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
Cryptocurrency exchanges allow people to trade traditional currencies for cryptocurrencies, and to trade between different types of cryptocurrencies.
The bankruptcy filing came after crypto news site CoinDesk reported FTX was taking risks with its customers’ money. It alleged a company owned by SBF was holding billions worth of FTX’s customers’ money and using it to make investments.
SBF was arrested in December 2022.
