Ex-FTX CEO Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas as US files charges

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder and former head of digital-asset exchange FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday, the nation’s government said.

Bankman-Fried’s detention followed a notification from the US that it had filed criminal charges against him, the Bahamas attorney general said in a statement.

Authorities in both countries had been probing his involvement in the company’s collapse last month.

In a statement, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, said the arrest was made at the request of the American government.

#RELEASE: Chairwoman @RepMaxineWaters‘ Statement on the Arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried (@SBF_FTX ) | https://t.co/73niikzgx3 pic.twitter.com/MRuITYFJkG

— U.S. House Committee on Financial Services (@FSCDems) December 13, 2022

More than 100 FTX-related entities filed for US bankruptcy protections on November 11.

The firm and Bankman-Fried are facing investigations in the US and the Bahamas, where the company was headquartered, into a range of possible misconduct. One key inquiry is into whether customer funds were lent out to trading firm Alameda Research, which he also founded.

In media interviews since FTX’s collapse, Bankman-Fried has admitted to major managerial missteps, but has also claimed that he never tried to commit fraud or break the law.

In his remarks prepared for a US House hearing that Bankman-Fried was scheduled to appear at on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried offered a blunt assessment of his plight.

Read: How Binance and FTX sent shockwaves through the crypto world