Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of the now-insolvent FTX exchange, was detained by the Bahamian police Tuesday at the request of the U.S. government. SBF’s arrest, confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, comes just a day before his scheduled appearance in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
The Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, California Rep. Maxine Waters, criticized the timing of Bankman-Fried’s arrest, saying that the American public deserves to hear directly about the actions that harmed millions of FTX customers.
“It’s about time the process to bring Mr. Bankman-Fried to justice has begun,” the congresswoman said in a statement following Bankman-Fried’s arrest. “However, as the public knows, my staff and I have been working diligently for the past month to secure Mr. Bankman-Fried’s testimony before our Committee tomorrow morning.”
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According to The New York Times report, the charges against failed crypto mogul include wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, and money laundering. The US is likely to request Bankman-Fried’s extradition.
"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," Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement. "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."
