Media reports raid at home of former FTX executive.

FBI agents conducted a raid at the home of Ryan Salame, the former executive director of FTX and the Bahamas-based subsidiary’s CEO. The The New York Times reports, citing sources.

According to them, the residence is in Potomac, Maryland (USA). The official grounds for the investigation were not disclosed. However, sources noted that Salame had been under close law-enforcement scrutiny due to a $24 million donation to support Republicans.

The former head of the Bahamian subsidiary was in SBF’s inner circle. In particular, this is indicated by recently released documents — according to which Salame received $87 million in payments and loans from the cryptocurrency exchange and Alameda Research.

According to court records, he was the first to cooperate with authorities during the FTX collapse. In December it was revealed that Salame warned the Bahamian Securities Commission of potential fraud two days before filing for bankruptcy.

At the end of 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged SBF with eight criminal counts. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on bail of $250 million.

In February 2023 prosecutors increased the number of charges against SBF to 12, and in the following month to 13. He pleaded not guilty to all counts, including bribery of a Chinese official.

Earlier, former Alameda Research head Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to the offenses and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Later, following their example the CTO of the collapsed exchange Nishad Singh followed suit.

In April, the court approved strict monitoring of SBF’s and his parents’ phones during house arrest.