FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested, Denied Bail

FTX Founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday evening. The arrest was a result of a magistrate judge signing an emergency warrant for his arrest requested by prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York. 

“Bankman-Fried is facing multiple criminal charges in the United States including, securities fraud, campaign finance violation and money laundering over the implosion of his FTX crypto exchange,” CNBC reported. 

Bankman-Fried made his first court appearance since the arrest on Tuesday, where his lawyers pleaded for the judge to release him on a $250,000 bail with an ankle monitor. 

His counsel argued that he had the opportunities to run “up from the moment FTX issues became public” and did not take them, therefore, he was not a flight risk. 

However, the judge ultimately decided that there was a “great” risk of flight and Bankman-Fried will remain in jail until February 8, 2023, his next scheduled court hearing. 

After Bankman-Fried’s Crypto company, FTX, collapsed, authorities allege that he defrauded investors by funneling FTX customer money into his hedge fund, Alameda. 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission stated, “Alameda accessed and used FTX customer funds for Alameda’s own operations and activities, including to fund its trading, investment, and borrowing/lending activities.”