Police in The Bahamas have taken SBF into custody, one day before he was set to provide a digital testimony to US Congress.
The statement, from the office of Sen. Ryan Pinder, confirms the arrest of Bankman-Fried.
"On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried ("SBF"), former CEO of FTX. SBF's arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF and is likely to request his extradition.
"As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF's arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation's Extradition Act. At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States."
Responding to SBF's arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, "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. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere."
Bankman-Fried was set to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that the Bahamian authorities arrested Bankman-Fried at the "request of the US 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."
He tweeted on December 9, "I still do not have access to much of my data -- professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won't be as helpful as I'd like.
"But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th."
Bankman-Fried is central to the reported $2 billion to $8 billion of FTX customer funds that vanished in early November. He then filed his company for bankruptcy Bankman-Fried was the second biggest Democrat donor following only George Soros in 2021-22, contributing $39.8 million.
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