Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was detained in the Bahamas following the filing of criminal accusations against the crypto entrepreneur by American prosecutors. Damian Williams, US Attorney of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), confirmed the arrest in a tweet on Monday night.
The 30-year-old crypto wunderkind, once valued at an estimated $26.5 billion, who attracted investors like BlackRock and NFL star Tom Brady and was among the most well-connected and largest political fundraisers in Washington, has experienced an extraordinary fall following his arrest.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Bahamas said in a statement on Monday that Bankman-Fried was arrested by police in the Caribbean country after US prosecutors informed them they had filed charges and would likely seek his extradition.
Bankman-Fried will be held in custody “pursuant of our nation’s Extradition Act,” the Attorney General of the Bahamas said in a statement.
“Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York].
“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan said
According to the New York Times, which cited an unnamed source with knowledge of the case, the charges against Bankman-Fried, who was once considered the second-richest millennial in the world after Mark Zuckerberg, include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which is in charge of administrative and civil enforcement operations, declared that it has independently authorised charges relating to Bankman-alleged Fried’s securities law violations.
Bankman-Fried’s arrest came just hours after he said he would on Tuesday testify remotely about the collapse of FTX before the US Congress.
