FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas

Bahamian authorities arrested former FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Monday evening.

The development comes the day before Bankman-Fried had agreed to testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee regarding the collapse of his Nassau-based exchange.

According to a statement shared by the Bahamian Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Royal Bahamas Police detained Bankman-Fried following receipt of formal notification from the United States it has filed criminal charges against the fallen crypto billionaire.

The Attorney General said it will hold Bankman-Fried in custody pursuant with the Bahamas’ extradition treaty. The U.S government’s extradition treaty with the Bahamas lets the U.S. extradite defendants for charges involving offenses that are crimes in both countries.

“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,” Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Souther District of New York said in a statement. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

“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 in a statement.

“While the United States is pursuing its own criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the FTX collapse, with continued cooperations of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.”