Disgraced crypto guru Sam Bankman-Fried will likely be placed on suicide watch

Fallen crypto guru Sam Bankman-Fried is likely to be placed on suicide watch when moved to a tiny cell in his hellhole jail in the Bahamas, a prison official has told DailyMail.com exclusively.

The former CEO of collapsed currency exchange FTX – who takes medication for depression – remains under evaluation in the maximum security sickbay and is expected to be there until the end of next week.

His next move inside notorious His Majesty’s Prison Fox Hill will be decided by the jail’s Classification Board and a medical assessment.

‘The board assesses an inmate’s risk and also their needs,’ the jail spokeswoman said. ‘It will decide when Bankman-Fried is clear to join the regular prison population and that would mean him being in an individual cell.

‘They are roughly 8ft by 10ft. Some have bathroom facilities, but many do not.’

She added: ‘It is very possible that he will be on suicide watch, which means round-the-clock observation with checks every 15 minutes. That decision is one for the Classification Board and the doctors here.

‘He would have a bed and a blanket. We will be building more up-to-date cells with bathroom facilities, but that work doesn’t start until January next year. He may have a toilet, or he may not.’

General views of the Bahamas department of correctional services Fox Hill Nassau where Bankman-Fried is being detained. The prison official said the cells are ‘roughly 8ft by 10ft. Some have bathroom facilities, but many do not’

Bankman-Fried has filed an application for bail with the Supreme Court in Nassau, which is due to be heard on January 17.

It follows an unsuccessful bid for bail at his first court appearance on Tuesday, when he was remanded in handcuffs to Fox Hill until February 8 despite claiming he shouldn’t be incarcerated because he is a depressed vegan.

Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt dismissed the plea the day after his dramatic arrest at his $40million penthouse in the exclusive celebrity community of The Albany.

During the marathon court hearing, it was revealed the fallen tycoon takes medication for depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

SBF, as he likes to be known, faces eight charges and is accused on ‘one of the biggest financial frauds in American history’ by allegedly conning investors out of $1.8billion.

They include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each carry a maximum prison term of 20 years, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where they were filed.

The prison is notorious for chronic overcrowding as well as rodent and maggot infestations

Prisoners dressed in rough looking uniforms of wide blue and gray stripes, could be seen in various work parties in the low security area beside the main entrance

The facility was designed to hold 1,200 inmates but regularly incarcerates around 2,400 prisoners 

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Bankman-Fried’s Stanford law professor parents were at his jail Thursday – and we can now also reveal the ironic reason they arrived to help their son who lost his personal $16billion fortune in the FTX overnight crash.

Joseph Bankman, 67, and wife Barbara Fried, 71, were there to put money into his prison account so he can buy items from the jail commissary, the spokeswoman told us. They did not see their son.

Fried was also spotted clutching a bag from upscale Solomon’s Fresh Market, appearing to bring supplies for the vegan diet her son claimed as one reason why he shouldn’t be locked up.

‘We allow family of inmates with restrictive diets to bring in meals every day. It is not a privilege we have given only to him,’ said the spokeswoman.

‘And the prison itself is catering to his dietary needs, he’s getting fruit and vegetables.’

Relatives and friends of other inmates, however, do not generally get to drive through the jail’s main gates to deliver their items.

DailyMail.com joined a line Friday of women who were bringing in food and clothing for prisoners. It was funneled through a narrow fenced off section at a different entrance and offered little respite from the blazing sun.

The line moved at a snail’s pace, with the final destination being a small barred window in a building where the visitors spent at least five minutes each before they were given a ticket to get through the security area and drop off their goods.

A sign on the building warned that cooked food must be in a 10inch Styrofoam container and those bringing it in must be prepared to taste it before handing it over.

Prisoners at the jail wear a rough uniform of a top and either pants or shorts, with wide horizontal faded blue stripes.

‘Bankman-Fried is not in that uniform,’ the prison spokeswoman said. ‘He’s on remand and only convicted inmates have to wear it.’

DailyMail.com spotted Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman visiting him in notorious Fox Hill jail in Nassau on Thursday

Barbara Fried, 71, was spotted carrying a bag from store The Fresh Market, though she was unable to see her son 

His father Joseph, 67, was wearing a charcoal suit, white shirt and blue tie for the visit to prison. They were there to put money into his prison account so he can buy items from the jail commissary, the spokeswoman told us

A Supreme Court source told DailyMail.com that SBF, whose $32billion empire imploded overnight, could stand a good chance of bail because of his medical conditions.

‘You must have the correct proof in paperwork to be considered for it. But it can be a very straightforward process,’ said the source. ‘It also applies if you are pregnant, elderly or there is no objection by The Crown.

‘Bankman-Fried might have to attend the hearing, or he could join it via video link. Either way, if the judge is satisfied that he meets the medical criteria then he could free him on the spot under bail conditions.’

The jail is split into low, medium and high-security areas. When DailyMail.com was outside on Wednesday we witnessed bustling activity, with several work gangs busy on maintenance. We also saw prisoners playing basketball.

However, condemnation of conditions in Fox Hill has been made in various reports.

The facility was designed to hold 1,200 inmates but regularly incarcerates around 2,400 prisoners.

A US State Department study found that it was infested with rats and maggots. And inmates were only allowed out of their cells for 30 minutes a week due to staff shortages.

One section of the study reads: ‘Many cells also lacked running water, and in those cells, inmates removed human waste by bucket.’

It continued: ‘Sanitation was a general problem, with cells infested with rats, maggots and insects. Ventilation was also a general problem. Prisoners in maximum security had access to sanitary facilities only one hour a day and used slop buckets as toilets.’

Another section said: ‘Prison inmates complained about the lack of beds and bedding. As a result, inmates developed bedsores from lying on the bare ground.’

While a study done years previously described the prison as ‘harsh’ and ‘primitive’. There are a total of seven housing units in the prison, including maximum security, female and central intake.

SBF had argued that he should be granted a $250,000 bail and house arrest because of his veganism, depression and dependence on medication 

A 2021 Amnesty International study found prisoners did not have access to bathrooms and were forced to slop out. Suicides are common as mental health care for inmates is ‘virtually non-existent’, added the report.

The study said: ‘There have been repeated, unconfirmed, serious allegations of sexual abuse and rape which do not appear to have been adequately investigated by the authorities.’

SBF ‘orchestrated a years-long fraud’ by diverting money to his Alameda Research ‘privately held crypto hedge fund’ and concealing that from investors, according a separate complaint filed against him by The Securities and Exchange Commission.

‘We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,’ said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

‘The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our law.’

Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement said FTX ‘operated under a veneer of legitimacy’ and added ‘as we alleged in out complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent.’