FTX fallout: Uncertain conditions await Sam Bankman-Fried inside Fox Hill, Bahamas’ only prison
- Crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried will initially be held in the medical department at Bahamas’ only prison
- Fox Hill prison was known to be ‘harsh’ and overcrowded, according to a 2021 US State Department report
Prisoners faced rodents and a lack of toilets in the Bahamas detention centre where Sam Bankman-Fried will be held, according to a 2021 US State Department report, though local authorities says conditions have since improved.
The 30-year-old Bankman-Fried arrived at a Bahamas court on Tuesday for his first in-person public appearance since the spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency exchange he founded.
He did not waive a hearing on his extradition to the United States to face charges of misappropriating funds and violating campaign laws, apparently in hopes of obtaining bail, but was instead remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until February 8 by Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt.
Bahamian Commissioner of Correctional Services Doan Cleare said preparations were being made for him to be housed in the medical department. That would mean he will be in a sick bay that can hold about five people, Cleare said.
“He will be in sick bay for orientation purposes and then we will determine where best to place him,” Cleare said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
The US State Department in a 2021 report described conditions at the facility, also known as Fox Hill Prison, as “harsh”, citing overcrowding, rodent infestation and prisoners relying on buckets as toilets.