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Cryptocurrency trade founder’s arrest comes hours after he mentioned he would testify earlier than the US Congress.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founding father of collapsed cryptocurrency trade FTX, has been arrested within the Bahamas after prosecutors in the US filed felony fees towards him.
Bankman-Fried was arrested by authorities within the Caribbean nation after US prosecutors notified them they’d filed fees and would doubtless search his extradition, the Workplace of the Lawyer Common of the Bahamas mentioned in an announcement on Monday.
The US Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York confirmed Bankman-Fried’s arrest however declined to touch upon the character of the costs.
“Earlier this night, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried on the request of the US Authorities, primarily based on a sealed indictment filed by the US Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York,” prosecutor Damian Williams mentioned in an announcement.
“We anticipate to maneuver to unseal the indictment within the morning and may have extra to say at the moment.”
The fees towards Bankman-Fried embrace wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and cash laundering, the New York Occasions reported, citing an unnamed supply with data of the matter.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Bankman-Fried’s arrest got here simply hours after he mentioned he would on Tuesday testify remotely in regards to the collapse of FTX earlier than the US Congress.
FTX filed for chapter safety final month after the collapse of an acquisition deal involving rival trade Binance. The collapse of the crypto trade, valued at $32bn at its peak, despatched shockwaves by way of the crypto sector, triggering mass layoffs and accusations of fraud.
Bankman-Fried, as soon as ranked because the world’s second-richest millennial after Mark Zuckerberg, has admitted making a “lot of errors” in his dealing with of the collapse however denied any intention to commit fraud.