Why is this guy even in the country?
He could have chartered a boat to Venezuela and taken a few hundred million with him.
Of course, all the people he defrauded might follow him.
He could have chartered a boat to Venezuela and taken a few hundred million with him.
Of course, all the people he defrauded might follow him.
Given how harsh the US is on financial crimes, I always thought the former opinion was smarter. Nick Leeson only got sentenced to 6 1/2 years in Singapore (and served 4). Or, alternatively, most stats show higher levels of corruption he could've finessed in his favor in the Bahamas.
As soon as he arrived on US soil it was over for him IMO.
The fact that he did this instead of executing a planned escape and going to hangout with Ruja Ignatova is the main reason for me to think he believed his own shit.
Leaked his ex-gf's private diaries in an attempt to intimidate her.
Decided to testify at his own trial.
I'm almost certain that he thought he would give a grand speech and all the jurors would instantly take his side, just like he had experienced with VCs, journalists, employees and other sycophants for the past decade.
Is there not a house next to Edward Snowden?
Why stay?
Extradition treaty mainly just lets some foreign country start a process in local courts to hand someone over.
You need to butter up a place with adversarial relations.
Or go somewhere with ironclad constitutional protections against extradition. And even then, e.g. France only has those for its own citizens and may still prosecute you locally for your crimes abroad.
Its a big world out there and a shockingly large portion is free of recognized government control. In such places you pretty much live by your own bootstraps rather than what some far away western country says, at least on the individual level.
What really really shocks me though is that SBF didn't just jump on a yacht out right after the failure as he easily could have done. If he had sailed to the right part of Latam or West Africa he'd have a decent chance at not getting caught.