Samuel Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas at US request

[lizkat]

US Attorney SDNY on Twitter:

"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."

This is about flailing cryptocurrency firm FTX which filed for bankruptcy and moved to the Bahamas...

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested, authorities in the Bahamas say

The arrest came after American authorities filed criminal charges against him, the country's attorney general said.

www.nbcnews.com

"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.

 

[lizkat]

More, from before the arrest... and "lotsa luck w/ that idea":

FTX ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says he wants to start a new business

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the failed crypto-exchange FTX, says he wants to start a new business to help his investors make back the money they lost in the crash.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Macky-Mac]

just an hour ago I was reading that he was going to testify remotely to congress this week, and the usual commentators saying he was staying in the Bahamas in an attempt to avoid getting arrested

 

[lizkat]

just an hour ago I was reading that he was going to testify remotely to congress this week, and the usual commentators saying he was staying in the Bahamas in an attempt to avoid getting arrested

So some SDNY guy is watching TV and sees that and makes a couple phone calls. Brilliant.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I think it's been pretty obvious that he's been hiding out.......and does he really have "no idea" where the missing $8billion is?

 

[AG_PhamD]

It’s my understanding earlier in the day he was essentially refusing to testify, then reversed course, and not too long after it was announced he was arrested. I wonder if that initial refusal has something to do with it.

I don’t think his excuse of being completely ignorant of how his business was operating is going to hold up. I don’t think his apology tour has done anything to help himself either, especially when he accidentally admits to knowingly co-mingling funds. His lawyers must love him.

Maybe he still has enough political cache to get out of this unscathed, but I have my doubts. $8B can’t just be allowed disappear out of accounts that aren’t supposed to be touched. It will probably just take some time to sort though. He and his conspirators deserve to spend quite a bit of time in jail.

At the end of the day what’s important is not the story of the rise and fall of SBF personally, but the many, many people lost a lot of money due to what appears to be fraud. It’s usually the least wealthy who are the least diversified and suffer the most in crashes like these.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

The Bahamas are the “I’m completely innocent” prison for guilty rich people. The only reason this guy is still running amuck is because there’s a bunch of complicit celebrities, politicians and tech elites who are still trying to figure out their own damage control a la “I hardly knew the guy/his business.” despite (for some) a mountain of evidence to the contrary. At minimum they can’t let the world see them as corrupt or an idiot opportunist enriching themselves.

 

[AG_PhamD]

The Bahamas are the “I’m completely innocent” prison for guilty rich people. The only reason this guy is still running amuck is because there’s a bunch of complicit celebrities, politicians and tech elites who are still trying to figure out their own damage control a la “I hardly knew the guy/his business.” despite (for some) a mountain of evidence to the contrary. At minimum they can’t let the world see them as corrupt or an idiot opportunist enriching themselves.

I’m not sure most of these celebrities will have any liability. I would think most of them had no idea fraud was taking place. At least some of them may have lost money in the collapse. Obviously if they knew this was all a scam, they should be held accountable, but I suspect that’s not the case. Considering, nearly all financial experts and the government were fooled by FTX, certainly I wouldn’t expect actors and athletes to know what was happening. Considering all the connections FTX and the money they offered to pay, one would likely assume they’re a legitimate enterprise.

I think the biggest threat these celebs face is repetitional damage. Good luck ever finding another paid endorsement anytime soon, if ever. If I were in one of these celebs shoes and wanted to demonstrate my regret, I would take the endorsement money I was paid and return it to the customers- not that it would really make a financial difference to anyone who lost money. But that’s the only reasonable thing you could do to ameliorate the situation.

You would think given all the scams and BS that occurs in the cryptocurrency market, celebrities would not want to get involved.

My dad worked on Wallstreet for years and has always advised not to get involved with cryptocurrencies. I’m glad I took his advice.