Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of FTX, was denied bail on Tuesday after a Bahamian decide deemed him a flight threat, in keeping with Reuters. An extradition listening to is scheduled for February eighth.
Bankman-Fried, nicknamed “SBF,” was arrested within the Bahamas Monday night after US prosecutors knowledgeable the Bahamas of sweeping felony prices anticipated to be filed towards the disgraced crypto darling. In an unsealed indictment Tuesday, prosecutors on the Justice Division’s Southern District of New York charged Bankman-Fried with eight counts of fraud, together with mendacity to traders and violating US marketing campaign finance legislation.
The court docket’s determination to disclaim bail follows a marathon listening to within the Home Monetary Providers Committee the place lawmakers questioned present FTX CEO John J. Ray III over the alternate’s collapse. Earlier than his arrest on Monday, SBF was slated to testify earlier than lawmakers as nicely. In remarks obtained by The Wall Road Journal, SBF was ready to apologize for the implosion, but in addition positioned partial blame onto Ray and rival cryptocurrency alternate Binance.
“I want to begin by formally stating, below oath: I fucked up,” the remarks stated.
All through Tuesday’s listening to, lawmakers broadly agreed FTX’s collapse warranted larger regulation of the crypto regulation. However with little time left earlier than the tip of the yr, McHenry stated the committee would choose up negotiations in January.
“The arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried is welcome information, however it nonetheless doesn’t unravel what occurred at FTX, and why it occurred, and who else could also be accountable,” incoming Monetary Providers Chair Patrick McHenry (R-TX) stated in his opening assertion.
