Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas For Financial Offences: According to the attorney general of The Bahamas, Sam Bankman-Fried, the creator of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been taken into custody there.
In the nation’s capital, Nassau, a magistrates court, he is expected to make an appearance on Tuesday.
According to the police, Mr. Bankman-Fried, 30, was detained for “financial offenses” against US and Bahamas legal regulations.
Many users were unable to withdraw their money after FTX filed for bankruptcy last month in the US. A court document from last month stated that FTX owed its 50 biggest creditors over $3.1 billion (£2.5 billion).
Although many experts have cautioned that it may only be a small portion of what they placed, it is unknown how much consumers who have funds in the exchange will receive back at the conclusion of bankruptcy proceedings.
Customers could exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin on the FTX market.
In the past, Mr. Bankman-Fried has been compared to a younger counterpart of the famous US investor Warren Buffett. As of late October, his net worth was believed to be more than $15 billion.
He had established a solid reputation in Washington, DC, for backing Democratic politicians and organizations with political donations, purportedly in support of stronger crypto regulation and pandemic prevention.
Mr. Bankman-Fried Detention Plan
According to a statement from the Bahamas Attorney General, Mr. Bankman-Fried will be detained “pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.”
“Samuel Bankman-Fried was taken into custody by the Bahamian authorities earlier this evening at the request of the US Government and in accordance with a sealed indictment brought by the SDNY [Southern District of New York]. In the morning, we plan to unseal the indictment, and we’ll have more to say then “the Manhattan office of the US Attorney stated in a tweet.
Regulators on Wall Street also announced that they would take action against Mr. Bankman-Fried.
“We congratulate our law enforcement partners for working to accomplish the arrest of Mr. Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas on federal criminal charges,” said US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officer Gurbir Grewal.
“Mr. Bankman-violations Fried’s of our securities laws have been independently authorized charges, which will be filed publicly tomorrow in the Southern District of New York,” he continued.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify before the US Congress regarding the demise of FTX.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who expressed astonishment at learning of his detention, stated in a statement that he will no longer be allowed to testify.
A BBC request for comment did not receive a prompt response from Mr. Bankman-attorney. Fried’s
A Statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force on the arrest of Samual Benjamin Bankman-Fried.
Police wish to inform that 30-year-old SAMUEL BENJAMIN BANKMAN-FRIED of California, U.S.A, has been arrested. pic.twitter.com/Mr85S2fzcN
— Latrae L. Rahming (DOC)?? (@latraelrahming) December 13, 2022
Former Wall Street trader and ex-Google employee Mr. Bankman-Fried launched FTX in 2019, the company that owns and runs the FTX.COM bitcoin exchange.
With daily trades of about $10 billion in bitcoins, it grew to become the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
However, after customers withdrew $6 billion from the site in only three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue arrangement, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11. At the same time, Mr. Bankman-Fried gave up his position as CEO of FTX.
BBC Interview With Bankman-Fried
In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Bankman-Fried admitted that the company had made mistakes but he wished to remove himself from claims of unlawful activities.
“I didn’t intend for any of this to occur, and I don’t believe I committed fraud on purpose. Definitely not as competent as I had believed I was “To the BBC, he spoke.
The FTX collapse happened during a turbulent year for the cryptocurrency market. In addition to other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has lost more than 60% of its value this year.
