FTX founder and former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas this week.
QUICK FACTS:
- Democrat FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas this week after the United States filed criminal charges against him.
- “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,” Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said.
- Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down from his role as CEO after the crypto trading firm imploded from a mismanagement of funds.
- The arrest came as Bankman-Fried was expected to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
- The move comes as regulators seek to hold individuals accountable for the multi-billion dollar collapse of FTX last month.
BAHAMAS PRIME MINISTER PHILIP DAVIS ON THE SAM BANKMAN-FRIED ARREST:
“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,” Davis said.
BACKGROUND:
- Last month, Bankman-Fried was revealed to have donated a large amount of money to several Democratic candidates who ran in the recent midterm elections through his political action committee (PAC).
- The 30-year-old donated approximately $38 million to numerous candidates and PACs from 2021-2022, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
- Bankman-Fried mainly donated to left-wing causes, making the largest contribution to the ‘Protect Our Future PAC,’ a group that funded Democratic candidates.
- According to Fortune, the 30-year-old has been a “major force in Democratic politics, ranking as the party’s second-biggest individual donor in the 2021–2022 election cycle.”
