- Sam Bankman-Fried has been detained in the Bahamas.
- The 30-year-old crypto wunderkind was once worth an estimated $26.5bn.
- He attracted investors like BlackRock and Tom Brady.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been detained in the Bahamas.
The 30-year-old crypto wunderkind was once worth an estimated $26.5bn and attracted investors like BlackRock and Tom Brady. He was also one of the most well-connected and biggest political donors in Washington.
The charges against Bankman-Fried, once the world’s second-richest millennial after Mark Zuckerberg, include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said it separately authorized charges related to Bankman-alleged Fried’s securities law violations.
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said his country and the US had a “shared interest” in holding accountable anyone who betrayed public trust and broke the law.
“While the US pursues criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into FTX’s failure,” Davis added.
Mark Cohen, Bankman-lawyer, Fried’s didn’t immediately comment.
Bankman-Fried was arrested hours after saying he would testify remotely before Congress on Tuesday concerning FTX’s collapse.
Bahamas-based FTX filed for bankruptcy last month after a failed takeover transaction with Binance. The collapse of the $32bn crypto exchange triggered enormous layoffs, fraud claims, and worries about the future of digital currency.
FTX is accused of utilizing customer funds to prop up Bankman-trading Fried’s company Alameda.
Bankman-Fried confessed committing “many mistakes” but denied fraud.
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