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The Bahamas prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, the international cryptocurrency market that recently crashed, putting thousands of investors in a precarious situation.
A spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan confirmed that Bankman-Fried had been arrested, but declined to discuss the charges against him.
“We hope that post the indictment in the morning and we will have more to say at that time,” the prosecution said on Twitter.
“Derived from the notification received and the material that was included, it was considered appropriate for the Public Ministry to request the arrest of SBF and keep him in custody, in accordance with the extradition law of our country,” said the Public Ministry. . from the Bahamas Ryan Pindery, according to the Reuters news agency.
Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy in the United States, leaving thousands of clients unable to withdraw their investments from the market.
It was the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, trading around $10 billion per day.
The “king” fallen from grace
In his prime, Bankman-Fried was seen as a younger version of legendary American investor Warren Buffet.
As of the end of October, he had an estimated net worth of more than $15 billion.
However, by his own account, he underestimated the large amount of cash needed to cover FTX client withdrawals, causing panic among clients.
A lot of cryptocurrency companies, the companies that deal with cryptocurrencies, have had issues with the contraction of the economy in general and concerns about the viability of cryptocurrencies in general.
Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX on November 11.
According to court documents filed earlier this month, FTX currently owes its 50 largest creditors nearly $3.1 billion.
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