Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and former CEO of now-defunct FTX, has been arrested by The Bahamas authorities at the request of the United States government. The arrest of the 30-year-old American entrepreneur comes ahead of his scheduled testimony before the US Congress on Tuesday.
The US Department of Justice confirmed the news through a tweet posted by the US Attorney SDNY.
“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,” it said.
According to the Bahamian authorities, the US government has filed criminal charges against SBF. A New York Times report on December 12 said that the charges against SBF include wire and securities fraud and money laundering, among others.
SBF is likely to be extradited from The Bahamas to the US for trial. In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said both The Bahamas and the US are on the same page on holding individuals associated with FTX accountable for betraying public trust and breaking 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,” he added.
