Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces a number of US authority fraud charges.
The last month has been full of FTX talk as one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges fell into crisis, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried filed the company for bankruptcy, stepped down from his position and went off to the Bahamas.
Since then, Bankman-Fried has spoken numerous times on the matter, dubbing regulators as no good since “they make everything worse” and at one point assigning the blame on his ex-partner. However, despite these attempts at assigning blame elsewhere, Bankman-Fried was recently arrested at his beach house resort in the Bahamas.
He then appeared in court, where his attempt at being granted bail was denied. Originally, it is thought that Bankman-fried would oppose any attempt at being extradited to the United States as he has many connections in the Bahamas. However, it would seem that now Bankman-Fried will agree to an extradition to the US.
This decision would see him returned to the US where he will appear in court to face charges for fraud, money laundering and campaign finance. In an official press release from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it was stated that Bankman-Fried is charged with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd.” It was noted that other allegations of misconduct are currently ongoing.
Security and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Genseler commented that Fried had built a “house of cards on a foundation of deception”. US Attorney, Damian Williams spoke on the matter at a conference stating that the fraud that Bankman-Friend is accused of is “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history”.
Of course, Bankman-Fried could change his mind again and attempt to appeal against extradition to the US. Regardless of the decision he makes, this story is far from over as the extent of his activities comes to light.
Paige Cook is a writer with a multi-media background. She has experience covering video games and technology and also has freelance experience in video editing, graphic design, and photography. Paige is a massive fan of the movie industry and loves a good TV show, if she is not watching something interesting then she's probably playing video games or buried in a good book. Her latest addiction is virtual photography and currently spends far too much time taking pretty pictures in games rather than actually finishing them.
