The crypto exchange FTX is bankrupt and many customers fear for their money. Now the authorities are arresting founder Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas. Investigations and class action lawsuits are underway in the United States against the 30-year-old.
The founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been arrested after the spectacular collapse of his company empire in the Bahamas. “Tonight, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York,” US Attorney Damian Williams said late Monday evening (local time) with. “We expect to request the unseal of the indictment tomorrow morning and will have more to say about that at that time.”
FTX – one of the largest trading places for cryptocurrencies – collapsed about three weeks ago after enormous outflows of funds within a few days. Billions in customer funds could not be paid out. Bankman-Fried, who is often just called SBF in the crypto industry, announced his resignation on November 11 and filed for bankruptcy for the group in the US state of Delaware. Investigations and class action lawsuits against the 30-year-old are ongoing in the United States.
Bankman-Fried asserts that FTX has enough funds to pay out clients. “The US platform is completely solvent,” he said at a video conference in New York last week. “I have never tried to commit fraud on anyone.” In hindsight, he’s ashamed.
“We failed completely,” said Bankman-Fried, referring to the multi-billion dollar risks of his crypto company. After the FTX collapse, there is not much left of his own fortune. He only has one bank account with around $100,000 in it. Before the bankruptcy, Forbes and Bloomberg valued his assets at times at over $26 billion
