(Reuters) – Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, is in negotiations with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to criminal charges, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the case.
Salame may enter a plea as soon as next month, but it was unclear whether he would enter into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors and testify against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, according to the report.
Salame has not previously been charged in connection with FTX and details of a potential plea deal have not been finalized, the report added.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment, while a lawyer for Salame did not immediately respond to Reuters’ calls for comment.
Three former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle have previously pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
In November, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States following its spectacular collapse.
The industry has since been under scrutiny from global regulators, while Bankman-Fried faces a criminal lawsuit by the U.S. government for alleged fraud.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Luc Cohen and Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)