Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by The Royal Bahamas Police Power following reviews that the USA filed prison prices in opposition to the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency change FTX, and is prone to request his extradition.
The Workplace of the Legal professional Common of The Bahamas issued an announcement in the present day, which was reported by BNO and other news outlets, that it could maintain Bankman-Fried in custody till “a proper request for extradition is made.”
In an announcement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis mentioned, “The Bahamas and the USA have a shared curiosity in holding accountable all people related to FTX who might have betrayed the general public belief and damaged the regulation. Whereas the USA is pursuing prison prices in opposition to SBF individually, The Bahamas will proceed its personal regulatory and prison investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its regulation enforcement and regulatory companions in the USA and elsewhere.”
The workplace the USA Legal professional for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams confirmed the arrest and the truth that it was made “on the request of the U.S. Authorities, primarily based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.” In a tweet, the workplace of the SDNY added: “We count on to maneuver to unseal the indictment within the morning and can have extra to say at the moment.”
The previous billionaire was scheduled to testify tomorrow as a witness earlier than the U.S. Home of Representatives Committee on Monetary Companies, TechCrunch’s Jacquelyn Melinek reported earlier in the present day. The committee is investigating the occasions that led as much as FTX’s implosion, which resulted within the crypto change filing for bankruptcy final month and Bankman-Fried being pressured to step down as chief govt.
As TechCrunch beforehand reported, Reuters reported final month that Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion in FTX consumer funds to affiliated buying and selling agency Alameda Analysis. Bankman-Fried instructed the publication that the switch of the funds was a misreading of the “complicated inner labeling.” He has repeatedly claimed ignorance of any wrongdoing.
Axios reported earlier in the present day that Bankman-Fried “continued to say no to testify in entrance of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and that his attorneys are refusing to just accept a subpoena,” in line with a brand new statement from Sens. Sherrod Brown and Pat Toomey.
This can be a growing story. TechCrunch reporter Amanda Silberling contributed to this piece.
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