FTX Founder Bankman-Fried Arrested in Bahamas, After U.S. Filed Criminal Charges

FTX Founder Bankman-Fried Arrested in Bahamas, After U.S. Filed Criminal Charges

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday after U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges, according to a statement by the government of the Bahamas, as reported by multiple sources.

 

“S.B.F.’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against S.B.F. and is likely to request his extradition,” the statement said.

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Bankman-Fried was scheduled to appear before Congress on Tuesday.

 

The United States is likely to request Bankman-Fried’s extradition, according to a release issued by the Bahamas attorney general. He will be held in custody by Bahamian police pursuant to the country’s extradition law, the release says.

 

Bankman-Fried has been under investigation by the Justice Department over the sudden implosion of FTX, a $32 billion company that filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, reports the New York Times.

“Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. government, based on a sealed indictment,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that was Tweeted. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”