
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in the Bahamas, according to a statement from the country's attorney general, the BBC writes.
Police said Bankman-Fried was arrested for "financial violations" against laws in the US and the Bahamas. According to a court filing last month, FTX owed its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1 billion.
Bankman-Fried was once billed as a new version of legendary American investor Warren Buffett, and as of the end of October had a net worth of more than $15 billion.
He had become known in Washington DC as a political donor, mostly to politicians or Democratic groups, who supposedly supported pandemic prevention and the crypto system.
FTX was founded in 2019 by Bankman-Fried, a former Wall Street trader, and former Google employee Gary Wang. FTX has traded around $10 billion worth of cryptocurrency per day.
But on November 11, FTX declared bankruptcy.
A Statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force on the arrest of Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried.
— Latrae L. Rahming (DOC)???????? (@latraelrahming) December 13, 2022
Police wish to inform that 30-year-old SAMUEL BENJAMIN BANKMAN-FRIED of California, USA, has been arrested. pic.twitter.com/Mr85S2fzcN