Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by authorities within the Bahamas on the request of the U.S. authorities, only a day earlier than the disgraced former FTX CEO was attributable to testify earlier than Congress.
Bankman-Fried was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Drive following a proper notification from the US authorities that it has filed prison expenses in opposition to him, in line with a Dec. 12 assertion from the Bahamas Legal professional Normal (AG) and Minister of Authorized Affairs, Ryan Pinder.
Citing an individual with data of the matter, The New York Instances reported on Dec. 12 that the fees in opposition to Bankman-Fried embody wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud and cash laundering,
The U.S. will possible request the extradition of Bankman-Fried, with Pinder stating that the Bahamas will “promptly” course of any extradition request.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis stated in a press release that each international locations have “a shared curiosity in holding accountable all people related to FTX who might have betrayed the general public belief and damaged the legislation.
A Dec. 12 tweet from the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York stated authorities within the Bahamas arrested Bankman-Fried based mostly on a sealed indictment it filed that it plans to unseal “within the morning.”
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this night, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried on the request of the U.S. Authorities, based mostly on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We count on to maneuver to unseal the indictment within the morning and may have extra to say at the moment.
— US Legal professional SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022
Bloomberg reported on Dec. 10 that prosecutors from New York, FBI brokers and regulators met with FTX’s legal professionals to debate the documentation that investigators need to receive.
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The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) was “carefully” inspecting whether or not FTX improperly transferred lots of of thousands and thousands across the identical time as the corporate declared chapter on Nov. 11.
Bahamian authorities had been equally endeavor their very own “energetic and ongoing” investigation into FTX as introduced on Nov. 27 by Pinder that concerned the nation’s Securities Fee, the Monetary Intelligence Unit and the police’s monetary crimes unit.
Bankman-Fried’s arrest comes a day earlier than he was anticipated to look remotely to testify earlier than the Home Committee on Monetary Providers in a listening to investigating the collapse of the alternate.