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The former CEO of failed cryptocurrency firm FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested on Monday in the Bahamas at the request of the US. government, US and Bahamian authorities.
Bankman-Fried had been under criminal investigation by the two countries following the collapse last month of FTX. The firm filed for bankruptcy on November 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run.
“Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Monday. He said he expected the indictment would be unsealed on Tuesday.
Bankman-Fried’s arrest comes just a day before he was due to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee, along with the company’s current CEO, John Ray III.
Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the Bahamas would “promptly” extradite Bankman-Fried to the US once the indictment is unsealed and US authorities make a formal request. Meanwhile, Bahamian authorities plan to continue their own investigation into Bankman-Fried.
“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,” Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis said in a statement.
FTX was headquartered in the Bahamas, and since its failure Bankman-Fried has remained in his luxury compound in Nassau.
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it also plans to file charges Tuesday against Bankman-Fried for violating US securities law.
