Founder of the cryptocurrency exchange that has collapsed known as FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried has reportedly been arrested in the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday after U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against him, according to a statement from the government of the Bahamas obtained by The New York Times.
Bankman-Fried has reportedly been under investigation by the Justice Department over the “sudden implosion of FTX,” which was a $32 billion company that the NYT said filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
FTX filed for bankruptcy when “it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run,” according to The Associated Press.
According to the NYT, FTX’s trouble began in early Nov. 11. A run on deposits had reportedly exposed an $8 billion hole in the company’s account. Bankman-Fried reportedly tried to get some help from a rival company called Binance but that deal fell through.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed Bankman-Fried’s arrest on Twitter.
“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,” SDNY said on Twitter.
Bankman-Fried was expected to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, according to CNBC.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee released a statement Monday evening following Bankman-Fried’s arrest.
“I am surprised to hear that Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas at the direction of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It’s about time the process to bring Mr. Bankman-Fried to justice has begun,” said Waters in the statement. “Although Mr. Bankman-Fried must be held accountable, the American public deserves to hear directly from Mr. Bankman-Fried about the actions that’ve harmed over one million people and wiped out the hard-earned life savings of so many. The public has been waiting eagerly to get these answers under oath before Congress, and the timing of this arrest denies the public this opportunity. While I am disappointed that we will not be able to hear from Mr. Bankman-Fried tomorrow, we remain committed to getting to the bottom of what happened, and the Committee looks forward to beginning our investigation by hearing from Mr. John Ray III tomorrow.”
More information is expected after Tuesday’s hearing. No further information has been released.
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
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