Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested Hours Before Congressional Testimony, Set For ‘Prompt’ Extradition From the Bahamas

Just hours after refusing to attend a Senate hearing on his role in the collapse of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by The Royal Bahamian Police Force.

Statement from the Attorney General of The Bahamas Sen. Ryan Pinder KC on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried

On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), former CEO of FTX. SBF’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF and is likely to request his extradition.As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.Responding to SBF’s arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, “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. 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.”

Official Statement below:

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams unveiled Sam Bankman Fried’s indictment, revealing the disgraced Democrat mega donor was charged with eight crimes, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“It’s fair to say that […] this is one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” Williams said.

“For every day of the past month, the dedicated prosecutors of this office and our partners from the FBI, SEC, and CFTC have been working around the clock to figure out what happened and to begin the process of seeking justice,” Williams said.

Williams said that FTX had been misappropriating funds as far back as 2019.

“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy,” said SEC Director of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal. “That veneer wasn’t just thin, it was illegitimate.”

Bankman-Fried is being charged with not only allegedly defrauding customers of FTX, but also lenders who gave money to Alameda Research and those who invested in his exchange. He is also being charged with violations of campaign finance law. Williams said that stolen customer funds were used by Bankman-Fried to donate to political candidates and pursue influence.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://freedomreportage.com/2022/12/14/sam-bankman-fried-arrested-hours-before-congressional-testimony-set-for-prompt-extradition-from-the-bahamas/

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