In a press release issued on December 13th, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that the US government had requested the extradition of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and that Bahamian authorities had complied. The co-founder of FTX was arrested the day before he was set to appear before the US Congress.
It was claimed that Bankman-Fried committed fraud involving wire transfers and securities, as well as money laundering and conspiracy to conduct such crimes. An official statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force was released after his arrest, which caused quite a stir in the crypto community, confirming that the crimes for which SBF was accused in the United States were equally prohibited in the Bahamas.
Both nations, according to Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis, have an interest in finding those responsible for the betrayal of public confidence and the breaking of the law by FTX, and bringing them to justice.
Bloomberg reported on December 10 that federal investigators would examine into SBF’s part in the transfer of FTX money to the Bahamas. To discuss what data is needed for further inquiry, Department of Justice representatives met with FTX’s court-appointed monitors. Whether or if SBF facilitated the transfer of FTX monies to Alameda Research was another investigation target for the Department.
Similarly, FTX was being looked at by officials in the Bahamas. Bahamian AG and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder made the announcement on January 15 that the government was looking into FTX Digital Markets for both civil and criminal violations. Financial Crimes section of Bahamas, Financial Intelligence Unit of Bahamas, and the Securities Commission of Bahamas were all engaged in the investigation.
John Jay Ray III, the newly appointed chief executive officer of FTX, appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on December 13. While he declined to comment on SBF’s remarks, he did say that he will continue to request information from SBF in light of the continuing inquiry.
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