FTX’s Nishad Singh pleads guilty to fraud charges

Another top executive at collapsed cryptocurrency firm FTX has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the US.

Former engineering director Nishad Singh admitted six charges, which included three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud on Tuesday.

The plea comes after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been accused of 12 criminal charges, which he denies.

FTX filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds.

Mr Bankman-Fried was released in December to his parents’ home in California on a $250m bond while awaiting trial.

Prosecutors have said Mr Bankman-Fried – once known as the “King of Crypto” – oversaw a massive scheme, in which customer deposits at FTX were improperly funnelled to his hedge fund Alameda Research and used for political donations.

In updated charges filed last week, they said he evaded limits on political contributions by using “straw” donors.

Two other senior members of Mr Bankman-Fried’s management team – former Alameda chief executive Caroline Ellison and former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang – pleaded guilty in December.

Mr Singh, who was reportedly a high school friend of Mr Bankman-Fried’s brother, worked at Alameda Research and was later part of the team that established FTX.

Like Mr Bankman-Fried, he had also become a multi-million dollar donor to political campaigns in recent years.