According to the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, Latrae Rahming, Bahamian police detained disgraced former crypto millionaire Sam Bankman-Fried at the request of the US government. Based on a document from the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Bankman-Fried will be kept in custody in line with the Bahamas Extradition Act.
Bankman-Fried was detained just after 6:00 p.m. ET at his apartment complex, according to Nassau Police Headquarters in a statement. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to appear in court. “The Bahamas and the United States have a common interest in holding responsible those people associated with FTX who may have abused the public trust and breached the law,” Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement.
Public members may appreciate accountability, but they are still no closer to receiving the funds they lost on the exchange if their assets are now the subject of bankruptcy procedures in many different countries. The settlement of this issue will be a significant milestone in the evolution of the digital asset industry and, perhaps, will act as a catalyst for the relevant Congress to adopt laws to effectively regulate the field.
According to a tweet quoting a statement by US Attorney Damian Williams, the arrest is the outcome of a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022
The former CEO was slated to appear remotely before a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, and many who were following the FTX saga were eager to hear from him. While responding to queries on a Twitter area on Monday, Bankman-Fried disclosed that he was still in the Bahamas. It is unclear if he will be summoned to testify following his arrest.
According to the Senate Banking Committee, Bankman-Fried was asked to speak about his collapsed company during a hearing on Wednesday but refused. If Bankman-Fried chose not to come, Pat Toomey and Sen. Sherrod Brown threatened to issue a subpoena. Mark S. Cohen, a former assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, will represent Bankman-Fried in court.
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