Sam Bankman-Fried, disgraced founder of crypto empire FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas today. Bahamian authorities arrested the 30-year-old, known as SBF, following criminal charges filed by U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
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 founder of the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX, SBF was once worth $26 billion. But in November, the exchange collapsed and filed for bankruptcy amid allegations he mismanaged customer funds.
U.S. Prosecutors began laying the groundwork for legal action against SBF in early December.
Bankman-Fried’s parents, both Stanford Law professors, flew out to the Bahamas in November to offer support to their son. SBF’s legal team is also said to include white-collar crime expert and Stanford professor, David W. Mills.
The crypto founder has raised eyebrows in recent weeks for moving forward with a slew of interviews about the fall of his crypto empire, despite lawyers’ warnings that his public appearances may cause legal troubles.