Bahamas authorities arrest FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Bahamian authorities arrested FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. government. The announcement was made by Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

“Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government on the basis of a sealed indictment filed in the Southern District of New York. We expect that a motion to unseal the indictment will be filed in the morning, after which we will be able to provide more details,” the statement said.

According to a statement by Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder, the arrest occurred on December 12. The United States has brought criminal charges against the founder of FTX. American law enforcement authorities are expected to seek Bankman-Fried’s extradition to the United States.

BREAKING: Attorney General Ryan Pinder said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested. pic.twitter.com/DO37NA3Q7E

— Jasper Williams-Ward (@jasperward94) December 12, 2022

“If an official request for extradition is filed, the Bahamas intends to expeditiously consider the petition in accordance with local law and its treaty obligations with the United States,” the press release said.

Prime Minister Philip Davis added that, despite the initiative of U.S. law enforcement, the Bahamian authorities will continue to investigate the FTX collapse.

According to sources at The New York Times, the charges against Bankman-Fried include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and money laundering.

The SEC also said that it would separately file charges against the FTX founder related to violations of securities laws. They are to be publicly announced on December 14.

Gurbir Grewal: We commend our law enforcement partners for securing the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried on federal criminal charges. The SEC has authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws, to be filed publicly tomorrow in SDNY. https://t.co/ON0LgY4mf4

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022

On December 13, the founder of FTX was supposed to testify before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. According to Committee Chair Maxine Waters, she is disappointed that she will not be able to hear Bankman-Fried.

“It is long past time to bring Bankman-Fried to account. … However, the American public deserves to hear directly from the founder of FTX answers to questions about actions that harmed more than a million people,” Waters said.

As reported, on November 11, 2022, the FTX Group, which also includes Alameda Research, filed for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO.

John Ray, who took over the role, accused the former executives of the exchange of concealing the illegal use of customer funds and “secretly freeing Alameda Research from certain aspects of the platform’s auto-liquidation protocol.”

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