The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on April 1, 2026, that a federal court in New York has entered a supplemental consent order resolving its enforcement action against Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The order requires Singh to disgorge $3.7 million, continue assisting the agency in its ongoing investigations and related proceedings, and comply with a five-year trading prohibition along with an eight-year ban on registration.
These restrictions run from the date of the original consent order issued in April 2023.
In that earlier ruling, the court found Singh liable for fraud by misappropriation of customer funds and for aiding and abetting such violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
The initial order also imposed permanent injunctions barring him from future breaches of antifraud rules or assisting others in doing so.
Notably, the CFTC is not pursuing restitution or civil monetary penalties at this stage, citing Singh’s substantial cooperation in both the agency’s probe and the parallel criminal case, where he pleaded guilty to multiple counts including conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.
CFTC Director of Enforcement David Miller emphasized the dual message in the resolution.
He noted that the penalties reflect the seriousness of Singh’s role in the fraud while underscoring the tangible benefits of cooperating with regulators.
Such assistance, Miller stated, can lead to meaningful leniency even in high-stakes violations.
The development comes more than three years after FTX’s spectacular implosion in November 2022, which exposed the misuse of billions in customer deposits funneled through its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research.
Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 on fraud charges and is serving a 25-year prison sentence.
His recent attempts to secure a presidential pardon from the Trump administration have been firmly rejected. In early 2026,
Bankman-Fried waged a public campaign from prison, issuing statements through intermediaries that praised the president and aligned with certain policy positions.
However, the White House explicitly confirmed that Trump has no intention of granting clemency, a stance first articulated in January and reiterated multiple times in February and March.
Lawmakers in Congress, even those supportive of cryptocurrency, largely dismissed the effort.
Bankman-Fried has also pursued other avenues to shorten his sentence, including requests for a new trial based on claims of newly discovered evidence and alleged trial irregularities.
Prosecutors have urged courts to reject these motions, describing them as unsupported, and appellate judges have expressed skepticism.
Earlier bids for release pending appeal were likewise denied.
By contrast, several of his former colleagues who cooperated with authorities have received comparatively lighter treatment.
Caroline Ellison, Alameda Research’s former CEO and a key witness who testified against Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges.
She was sentenced to two years in prison in September 2024 but was released in January 2026 after serving roughly 14 months.
She forfeited $11 billion in assets and faces a 10-year ban on serving as a company officer or director.
Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, avoided prison time entirely and received three years of supervised release.
Like Singh and Ellison, he has accepted multi-year officer-and-director bars as part of settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The CFTC’s latest action against Singh reinforces a clear pattern in the FTX saga: full cooperation with investigators can significantly mitigate consequences, even for those deeply involved in the fraud.
As the agency continues to emphasize accountability in digital asset markets, the diverging outcomes for Bankman-Fried and his cooperating colleagues serve as a stark reminder of the high personal cost of refusing to assist authorities. The cryptocurrency industry, still reeling from the scandal, watches closely as regulators signal that leniency is reserved for those who help uncover the truth.