Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, has been relocated to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, according to an update on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website Thursday. The move comes just weeks after Bankman-Fried gave an unauthorized video interview from prison to political commentator Tucker Carlson.
The interview, reportedly earlier this month at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, was not authorized by federal prison officials. During the remote discussion, Bankman-Fried shared personal reflections on his incarceration and reiterated his claim of being wrongfully convicted.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, prison staff at MDC woke Bankman-Fried around 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday to begin the transfer process without disclosing his destination. The Oklahoma facility serves as a temporary holding center for federal inmates awaiting transfer to long-term prison assignments.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the collapse of FTX. His projected release date is November 17, 2044. The transfer marks the latest development in a high-profile incarceration that continues to attract national attention.
Oklahoma Transfer Marks First Step Toward Permanent Prison Assignment
Sam Bankman-Fried’s relocation to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City is part of a broader process to assign him to a permanent correctional facility, likely a lower-security prison in California’s Bay Area, according to earlier reporting. While he has been held at MDC Brooklyn since August 2023, that facility was never intended to be his long-term place of incarceration.
At the conclusion of Bankman-Fried’s high-profile fraud trial last month, Judge Lewis Kaplan recommended that he serve most of his 24.25-year sentence in a facility closer to his family, who reside near Stanford University. The final decision on placement rests with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, but the move to Oklahoma signals that the system is now processing his long-term designation.
The FTC in Oklahoma City functions as a centralized hub in the U.S. federal prison system. Inmates are temporarily housed there before being reassigned to longer-term institutions through the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS)—a network informally known as “Con Air.”
Bankman-Fried Denies Guilt in Carlson Interview
Bankman-Fried, 33, had been detained at MDC Brooklyn since August 2023 following the revocation of his bail due to alleged witness tampering. In March 2025, he participated in a video interview with Tucker Carlson without obtaining necessary permission from prison authorities. During the interview, he discussed his experiences in prison and reiterated his claims of wrongful conviction.
“I don’t think I was a criminal,” Bankman-Fried told Carlson.
“I think the DOJ thinks I may have been, but I don’t care.”
He claimed that FTX remained solvent at the time of its collapse, arguing it could ultimately have held as much as $100 billion in assets against roughly $15 billion in liabilities.
The interview is widely seen as part of an ongoing effort by Bankman-Fried and his family to seek clemency, aligning with a broader wave of political pardons seen under the Trump administration. In a separate February interview with the New York Sun, he hinted at a shift toward more conservative political views, framing his prosecution as a case of government overreach.
The fallout from the Carlson interview was immediate. Mark Botnick, who served as Bankman-Fried’s crisis manager since the FTX collapse in November 2022, resigned following confirmation that the interview had not been cleared through official prison channels. Prison authorities reportedly responded by placing Bankman-Fried in solitary confinement before initiating his transfer to the Oklahoma transit facility.
Quick Facts:
- Sam Bankman-Fried was transferred from MDC Brooklyn to FTC Oklahoma City following an unauthorized interview with Tucker Carlson.
- He was reportedly placed in solitary confinement after the interview.
- Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of FTX.
- His legal team has filed an appeal, alleging judicial bias and restricted access to evidence.
