- Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX exchange was arrested by authorities in the Bahamas at the request of the US.
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately authorized charges related to the former FTX CEO’s violations of securities laws.
- FTX exchange’s native token FTT price nosedived, yielding nearly 8% losses overnight.
Samuel Bankman-Fried was arrested by the Attorney General and authorities of the Bahamas after a request by the US government. SBF is accused of securities violation, money laundering, wire and securities fraud, and the US SEC is set to publicly file separately authorized charges publicly on December 13, 2022.
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Samuel Bankman-Fried’s arrested in Bahamas, request for extradition to the US underway
Samuel Bankman-Fried, known as SBF in the crypto community, was arrested by the Bahamas authorities following a formal notification by the US government. The US government notified the Attorney General in the Bahamas that criminal charges have been filed against the former FTX exchange CEO. The government will likely request SBF’s extradition according to the former statement.
The statement reads:
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. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, the Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.
SBF is under investigation in connection with FTX exchange collapse
The US Justice Department is investigating SBF in connection with the collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of FTX exchange. FTX is now defunct and bankrupt, while the exchange was once worth $32 billion.
The New York Times reported that the charges against SBF have been confirmed. SBF is faced with a laundry list of charges including wire fraud and conspiracy, securities fraud and conspiracy and money laundering.
Gurbir Grewal: We commend our law enforcement partners for securing the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried on federal criminal charges. The SEC has authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws, to be filed publicly tomorrow in SDNY. https://t.co/ON0LgY4mf4
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022