Sam Bankman-Fried arrest: Disgraced FTX crypto change founder detained in Bahamas at US request | NEWSRUX

Sam Bankman-Fried, founding father of the collapsed cryptocurrency change FTX, has been arrested within the Bahamas on the request of the US authorities, the US Lawyer for the Southern District of New York has introduced.

In a tweet, the SDNY mentioned: “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 anticipate to maneuver to unseal the indictment within the morning and may have extra to say at the moment.”

“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,” Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis mentioned in an announcement on Monday night.

“Whereas the USA is pursuing legal costs in opposition to SBF individually, The Bahamas will proceed its personal regulatory and legal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its regulation enforcement and regulatory companions in the USA and elsewhere,” continued the assertion.

Bahamas Lawyer Normal Ryan Pinder mentioned that the USA was “more likely to request his extradition.”

The arrest got here only a day earlier than Mr Bankman-Fried had been set to testify voluntarily earlier than Congress concerning the failure of his crypto change.

Mr Bankman-Fried took to Twitter final week to say that he was “prepared to testify” for the Home Monetary Companies Committee on 13 December, however was doing it remotely and never again on US soil.

“I nonetheless wouldn’t have entry to a lot of my knowledge – skilled or private. So there’s a restrict to what I can say, and I received’t be as useful as I’d like,” he added.

“However because the committee nonetheless thinks it could be helpful, I’m prepared to testify on the thirteenth.”

He mentioned that he’ll “attempt to be useful throughout the listening to” and provides the committee data on FTX US’s “solvency and American clients”, “pathways that might return worth to customers internationally” and “my very own failings.”

His supply to testify comes after a string of requests from lawmakers, together with Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

“I had considered myself as a mannequin CEO, who wouldn’t develop into lazy or disconnected. Which made it that rather more damaging after I did,” added 30-year-old Mr Bankman-Fried.

“I’m sorry. Hopefully folks can be taught from the distinction between who I used to be and who I might have been.”

FTX collapsed after customers withdrew round $5bn value of crypto property in a single day.

Authorized consultants instructed CNBC that if federal prosecutors pursue wire or financial institution fraud in opposition to Mr Banlman-Fried he might face life in jail with out the opportunity of supervised launch.