The court released Sam Bankman-Freed on bail of $250 million

The court of the Southern District of New York has set bail at $250 million for ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. He was released into the custody of his parents.

At a meeting on December 22, federal prosecutors called the set amount "the highest" in the history of pre-trial hearings, Decrypt writes.

The agreement did not require the actual deposit of funds, but became a "guarantee of personal surety". The founder of the exchange is obliged to appear in court if necessary, and his release is secured by real estate — his parent's house in Palo Alto (Santa Clara County, California).

The bail conditions also provide for a ban on financial transactions in excess of $1,000, house arrest and wearing an electronic bracelet. Violation of the agreement threatens to pay $ 250 million.

"When a loved one or a family member signs documents [on bail], the violator's failure to appear in court affects other people, namely the signatories, who are also subject to the requirements. [...] this is a more effective way to ensure the presence of a rich person at a court hearing," Miriam Bayer, a law professor at Brooklyn Law School, explained to the publication.

The court's decision caused confusion among the participants of the cryptocurrency community. One Twitter user recalled Bankman-Fried's statement that he "only has $100,000." The Autism Capital account clarified that no funds were required, but in case of violation of the conditions, relatives will be in a difficult situation.

Cryptotrader and host of The Wolf Of All Streets podcast Scott Melker noted that in case of violation of the bail conditions, the parents of the ex-head of FTX "will have to work on 17 additional jobs" to find money.

The host of the Regulatory Jason podcast, Jason Brett, admitted that "people can't wait to see how Sam Bankman-Fried will answer for his crimes." However, he recalled the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.

Earlier, the former head of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges related to the collapse of the Bankman-Fried business empire and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

The deal does not include "criminal tax violations related to Ellison's participation in a conspiracy to commit fraud and defraud clients of FTX and Alameda companies between November 2009 and November 2022."

The agreement also does not protect it from investigations of crimes that were classified as securities and commodity fraud, as well as conspiracy to launder money.

According to the SEC's lawsuit, Allison "engaged in automated purchase" of the FTT utility token on various platforms to inflate the price of the asset at the direction of the FTX founder. The regulator called the coin an "illiquid cryptographic security."