CFTC settles FTX case; ex-engineering chief Nishad Singh to pay $3.7 mn

Nishad Singh was one of the top executives who testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of the once high-flying crypto exchange that imploded in 2022

By Nicola M White and Miguel Ambriz

 

Former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh will have to return $3.7 million in illegal profits under a settlement with the US derivatives regulator over his role at the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange. 

Singh will also be banned from trading for five years and prohibited from registering with the regulator for eight years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a statement on Wednesday. The agency said it didn’t seek a monetary penalty or restitution based on his cooperation in the investigation. 

 

“The injunctions and monetary relief imposed here demonstrate the significant benefits that may be achieved through cooperating with the CFTC,” Enforcement Director David Miller said.

 

Attorneys for Singh said their client was grateful to have the matter behind him.

 

“We are pleased that the CFTC recognised our client’s limited role in the underlying conduct and his extensive cooperation,” attorneys Andrew Goldstein and Russell Capone said in a statement. 

 

The former FTX engineering chief pleaded guilty to fraud in 2023 as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and later avoided prison time. He was one of the top executives who testified against Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of the once high-flying crypto exchange that imploded in 2022.

 

Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. He filed a long-shot request earlier this year for a new trial.