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Sam Bankman-Fried leaving court:
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JEENAH MOON / REUTERS
The founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been allowed to spend time at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, on bail of $250 million.
He also had to give up his passport and would be placed under strict surveillance while he was under house arrest.
Federal District Judge Gabriel Gorenstein approved bail conditions on Thursday.
The prosecution and Bankman-Fried's attorney were unanimous in supporting the conditions.
The next court date has been set for January 3.
Bankman-Fried, 30, was extradited to the United States on Wednesday from the Bahamas, where he was arrested on December 12 at the request of US authorities.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission accuses him of misleading investors with false promises and embezzling their funds.
It is worth more than 1.8 billion dollars (more than 1.7 billion euros), he faces a long prison sentence.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11 after clients withdrew funds en masse in response to the covert move of $10 billion in deposits.
Bankman-Fried resigned as chief the same day.
He has apologized to customers but denied allegations of fraud.
The collapse of FTX has rocked the crypto world.
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