The deal is in effect, if Bitar pleads guilty. The US Department of Justice will confiscate $40 million from his accounts, but that way he can evade jail time.
The deal was possible because Bitar's attorneys presented papers, which prove that Bitar suffers from a serious heart condition, and will most likely require a heart transplant. The doctors say he has a 50% chance of not living through a year without a transplant.
As it is known, FTP's former CEO was accused of stealing $40,945,781 from FTP, he faced trial on 3 July, 2012. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested him at the New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he arrived from Dublin, allegedly to surrender himself to the authorities. However, Bitar's plans were shattered. He agreed with FBI to surrender himself, but he was arrested eventually, as new points were added to his indictment.
Bitar faced trial on the day if his arrest, where he pleaded not guilty in front of Debra Freeman chief judge.
The new points were - according to the documents surfacing upon his arrest - in connection with Black Friday, namely that, according to the FBI, Bitar continued to encourage non-US citizens to deposit funds to FTP despite its critical financial situation, guaranteeing the safety of their funds. At this point, however, FTP was entirely dependent on the new deposits to cover former withdrawals and operational costs.
The prosecution asked for a denial of bail, calling attention to an improved flight risk on Bitar’s part, taking the new charges and a more serious expected sentence into consideration. The court finally let go of Bitar on a $2.4 million bail. The ex-leader was immediately placed under house arrest and has been being monitored with an electric tracer ever since.
The deal was possible because Bitar's attorneys presented papers, which prove that Bitar suffers from a serious heart condition, and will most likely require a heart transplant. The doctors say he has a 50% chance of not living through a year without a transplant.
As it is known, FTP's former CEO was accused of stealing $40,945,781 from FTP, he faced trial on 3 July, 2012. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested him at the New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he arrived from Dublin, allegedly to surrender himself to the authorities. However, Bitar's plans were shattered. He agreed with FBI to surrender himself, but he was arrested eventually, as new points were added to his indictment.
Bitar faced trial on the day if his arrest, where he pleaded not guilty in front of Debra Freeman chief judge.
The new points were - according to the documents surfacing upon his arrest - in connection with Black Friday, namely that, according to the FBI, Bitar continued to encourage non-US citizens to deposit funds to FTP despite its critical financial situation, guaranteeing the safety of their funds. At this point, however, FTP was entirely dependent on the new deposits to cover former withdrawals and operational costs.
The prosecution asked for a denial of bail, calling attention to an improved flight risk on Bitar’s part, taking the new charges and a more serious expected sentence into consideration. The court finally let go of Bitar on a $2.4 million bail. The ex-leader was immediately placed under house arrest and has been being monitored with an electric tracer ever since.
