FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas

Christopher Hutton

December 12, 06:51 PM December 12, 07:16 PM

Officials arrested crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas after the United States filed criminal charges against him and requested extradition.

Bankman-Fried's arrest was confirmed by the Attorney General of the Bahamas. The crypto mogul and former billionaire has been the focus of recent regulatory attention in the crypto sphere after his exchange, FTX, collapsed and went bankrupt due to his poor handling of investors' funds.

"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," Bahamas prime minister Philip Davis said in a press statement. "While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigation into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere."

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Bankman-Fried's arrest was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York based on a sealed indictment. The indictment is expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning.

While the FTX founder has made multiple appearances in the media to discuss the business's collapse, he has evaded questioning on whether he is liable for the company's failure and the loss of billions. He also agreed on Friday to testify before Congress and was scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday morning by video.

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The collapse and bankruptcy of FTX last month has prompted investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, as well as the House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees.