The Royal Bahamas Police Force has arrested Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), the CEO of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The arrest comes approximately one day before the troubled entrepreneur is due to appear before the U.S. Senate for a congressional hearing.
According to a statement published by the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs in the Bahamas and distributed by local media sources, the arrest follows the receipt of a formal notification from the United States. Authorities in the United States confirmed that they have filed criminal charges against SBF and would likely request extradition.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed the FTX CEO’s arrest.
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022
U.S. and Bahamian Regulators United on SBF and FTX Investigation
In the official statement cited above, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis noted, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.”
Meanwhile, Bahamian regulators will “continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere,” per the statement.
The FTX CEO’s arrest marks the first strong move by regulators to convict the masterminds behind the multi-billion dollar company’s sudden collapse. FTX filed for bankruptcy in early November following a string of events that saw the once third-largest cryptocurrency exchange owing billions to creditors.
