(Townhall) Instead of answering clumsy questions about how cryptocurrency exchanges work from members of Congress via video from the Bahamas on Tuesday, it looks like Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) will instead be preparing to answer federal charges brought by the U.S. government.
The Attorney General of the Bahamas announced on Monday evening that the Royal Bahamas Police Force had arrested Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whose career imploded along with his company over numerous allegations of fraud that sent FTX into bankruptcy.
“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,” the Bahamas AG said. “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.”
The AG said his government will now await the formal request for Bankman-Fried’s extradition to the United States to face charges, and “intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.”
Philip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said his country “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,” he added.
The timing for the arrest is potentially convenient for Bankman-Fried, at least in the short-term — the disgraced former CEO was scheduled to appear via video from the Bahamas before the House Committee on Financial Services Tuesday after agreeing to testify during the hearing seeking more information on the collapse of FTX. Bankman-Fried had been cagey about testifying, but finally said on Friday that he would answer lawmakers’ questions.
1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like.
But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th. https://t.co/KR34BsNaG1
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 9, 2022
The arrest by authorities in the Bahamas comes as reporting has noted the United States’ work building a case against Bankman-Fried, with Mashable noting on Sunday that “U.S. federal prosecutors would very much like to know what happened too,” in addition to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, “which is why there are now multiple investigations into FTX and its founder over allegations of fraud, manipulation, and more.”
As Mashable summarized of the events since FTX imploded:
