Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in The Bahamas.
The arrest was made at the request of U.S. authorities. The governments of both countries have been carrying out criminal investigations into Bankman-Fried, who is commonly known by his initials ‘SBF’.
First, who is SBF?
SBF founded FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which allowed people to trade digital currencies. He became one of the public ‘faces’ of crypto.
FTX collapsed in early November after it was revealed a side company had made risky investments with user funds. There have since been further revelations of financial mismanagement, including public admissions from SBF that he had not considered the risks of losing users’ money. He could face charges of fraud.
The arrest
The Attorney-General of The Bahamas has confirmed SBF was arrested after the U.S. notified they had filed criminal charges and planned to seek SBF’s return to the U.S. to face them (a process called ‘extradition’).
The Bahamas plans to allow extradition when a formal request is made. It will also continue its own investigations into SBF, who based FTX’s operations in the country.
A U.S. Government Attorney confirmed the arrest and advised there would be “more to say” shortly.
