Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force after reports that the United States has filed criminal charges against the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and is likely to seek his extradition.
The Bahamas Attorney General’s Office released a statement today, which was reported by BNO and other news broadcaststhat it would hold Bankman-Fried in custody until “a formal request for extradition is made”.
In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said: “The Bahamas and the United States have a common interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have violated public trust and violated the law. While the United States is filing individual criminal charges against SBF, the Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.
The Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams confirmed the arrest and the fact that it was created “at the request of the United States government, on the basis of a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.” In a tweet, the SDNY’s office added, “We expect to move tomorrow morning to unseal the indictment and will have more to say by then.”
The former billionaire used to be planned until to give evidence testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee tomorrow, australiabusinessblog.com’s Jacquelyn Melinek reported earlier today. The commission is investigating the events that led to the implosion of FTX, which resulted in the crypto exchange file for bankruptcy last month and forced Bankman-Fried to step down as CEO.
As australiabusinessblog.com previously reported, Reuters reported last month that Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion in FTX client funds to affiliate trading firm Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried told the publication that the transfer of the money was a misreading of the “confusing internal labeling”. He has repeatedly claimed to be ignorant of any wrongdoing.
Axios reported earlier today that Bankman-Fried “continued to refuse to testify before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and his attorneys refuse to accept a subpoena,” according to a new pronunciation from Senator Sherrod Brown and Pat Toomey.
This is an evolving story. australiabusinessblog.com reporter Amanda Silberling contributed to this piece.
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