Samuel Bankman-Fried arrested, charged by the US Government with money laundering, wire and securities fraud
- Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX exchange was arrested by authorities in the Bahamas at the request of the US.
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately authorized charges related to the former FTX CEO’s violations of securities laws.
- FTX exchange’s native token FTT price nosedived, yielding nearly 8% losses overnight.
Samuel Bankman-Fried was arrested by the Attorney General and authorities of the Bahamas after a request by the US government. SBF is accused of securities violation, money laundering, wire and securities fraud, and the US SEC is set to publicly file separately authorized charges publicly on December 13, 2022.
Samuel Bankman-Fried’s arrested in Bahamas, request for extradition to the US underway
Samuel Bankman-Fried, known as SBF in the crypto community, was arrested by the Bahamas authorities following a formal notification by the US government. The US government notified the Attorney General in the Bahamas that criminal charges have been filed against the former FTX exchange CEO. The government will likely request SBF’s extradition according to the former statement.
The statement reads:
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.
SBF is under investigation in connection with FTX exchange collapse
The US Justice Department is investigating SBF in connection with the collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of FTX exchange. FTX is now defunct and bankrupt, while the exchange was once worth $32 billion.
The New York Times reported that the charges against SBF have been confirmed. SBF is faced with a laundry list of charges including wire fraud and conspiracy, securities fraud and conspiracy and money laundering.
Gurbir Grewal: We commend our law enforcement partners for securing the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried on federal criminal charges. The SEC has authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws, to be filed publicly tomorrow in SDNY. https://t.co/ON0LgY4mf4
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022
Australian Financial Review reported that SBF’s inner circle was part of a chat group called “Wire Fraud.” SBF responded to the tweet stating:
If this is true then I wasn't a member of that inner circle. (I'm quite sure it's just false; I have never heard of such a group).
Members of the inner circle of power at FTX formed a chat group called “Wirefraud” and were using it to send secret information about operations in the lead-up to the company’s spectacular failure.https://t.co/4nlXcFcdaS pic.twitter.com/pHmAobtjQ0
— db (@tier10k) December 12, 2022
FTT price nosedived in the aftermath of SBF’s arrest
FTT, the native token of FTX exchange, witnessed a massive drop in its price overnight. FTT price plummeted nearly 8% since the news of SBF’s arrest. Post FTX exchange collapse, the native token’s price declined 98.3% from its all-time high of $84.18.
Author
Ekta Mourya
FXStreet
Ekta Mourya has extensive experience in fundamental and on-chain analysis, particularly focused on impact of macroeconomics and central bank policies on cryptocurrencies.
