Nishad Singh Gets $3.7M Price Tag and a 5-Year Timeout in CFTC's First FTX Settlement

Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, has settled his case with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for $3.7 million, closing the first individual case in the agency's multi-year FTX enforcement action. It's official: the CFTC finally got its scalp, and Singh gets to keep his freedom while paying what amounts to a very expensive real estate lesson.

The supplemental consent order, filed in the Southern District of New York, requires Singh to pay $3.7 million in disgorgement—representing real estate he purchased in October 2022 with funds he knew consisted of misappropriated FTX customer assets. That's right, folks: a house bought with other people's money now comes with a nice refund requirement. The DOJ called it a forfeiture, the CFTC calls it disgorgement, and Singh calls it a really bad real estate investment.

In addition to the disgorgement, the order imposes a five-year trading ban and an eight-year registration ban, blocking him from obtaining a license to operate in the sector. The CFTC waived restitution and civil penalties, citing Singh's cooperation and his joint and several liability for an $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order. So basically, don't bother trying to get a crypto job anywhere—your resume is going straight to the circular file for the next half-decade.

"The defendant engaged