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Sam Bankman-Fried, the fallen founder of FTX, the cryptocurrency trading platform, arrived in New York on Wednesday, December 21st. The day before he had given his consent to be extradited from the Bahamas where he was being held. Accused of massive fraud, among other charges, he is to appear before a judge in federal court in Manhattan, then placed in detention in New York, according to the American press.
No fewer than eight counts weigh against Sam Bankman-Fried, including those of massive fraud, money laundering and violation of campaign finance laws. The former king of cryptocurrencies faces 115 years in prison.
He is accused of embezzling funds deposited by his clients on FTX, nearly $2 billion since the creation of cryptocurrency trading platform in 2019, according to the SEC (Security Exchange Commission), the financial supervisory body of the United States.
“SBF”, his nickname, “ will be driven directly to the Southern District of (State of) New York “, jurisdiction including Manhattan, after his arrival, ” and will be presented to a judge as soon as possible Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams announced earlier in a video posted to Twitter.
Donations to Joe Biden
With this money he would carry out risky operations through another company he owns, Alameda. He allegedly invested in real estate in the Bahamas and donated money to Democratic politicians, including Joe Biden.
Two former key collaborators in the case are also in the crosshairs of American justice. They are Caroline Ellison, former head of the Alameda company, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX.
With these arrests, the SEC obviously wants to hold Sam Bakman-Fried and his cronies accountable. He also hopes, more broadly, to finally bring the cryptocurrency world into the chains of taxation and regulation.
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