Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by authorities in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government. The arrest came a day ahead of SBF’s scheduled appearance before U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday, where he was planning to give testimony via a video link.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested SBF after receiving official Notification from the U.S. government as it has filed criminal charges against him.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis stated that both countries have “a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.
The US SDNY has filed an indictment against SBF and plans to unseal it in the morning, and further details will be disclosed later on.
Various sources have revealed that charges against SBF include wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, and money laundering.
Prior to the indictment, various prosecutors from New York, FBI agents, and regulators met with FTX’s lawyers to discuss the documentation that investigators needed.
The U.S. DOJ was closely examining whether FTX had fraudulently transferred hundreds of millions around the same time the company declared bankruptcy on November 11.
The Bahamian authorities are similarly undertaking their own active and ongoing investigation into FTX.
