I just hope that this process that they are doing against SBF will continue because what he did to tamper with his investors' funds is not a joke. Maybe, SBF's recent interview on various social media platforms is what gave the people in charge the courage to charge him with a case because of the wrong he did to FTX investors.
And may he continue to be imprisoned in the end until the trial against him is over so that at least justice can be given to the people he victimized in this matter. So don't let it happen in the end that he pays a lot of money to those who charged the case against SBF.
Topic: SBF arrested in the Bahamas after U.S. files criminal charges - page 2. (Read 209 times)
Will there be a "free SBF" movement, the way Ross Ulbicht and other crypto celebrities in prison have enjoyed public support?
I'd be very surprised if that happened. And if I understand it correctly, the outcry against Ulbricht being imprisoned isn't/wasn't exactly extensive. It'd be much less so for someone like SBF, who lost so much money for so many people through incompetence and downright idiotic (and I'm assuming illegal) use of FTX customers' funds.SBF also hasn't been sentenced yet like Ulbricht has, so we'll have to see how this all plays out. I figured it might take at least a few more weeks for a case to be brought against him, but I betcha the authorities were worried he might find a way to disappear. It'd be hard to argue that he isn't a flight risk.
Life in prison without the possibility of parole for a financial crime does seem extremely harsh, no matter how much money was lost. I don't recall anyone getting that sentence after a big financial collapse. The bankers and mortgage agencies didn't even get punished at all back in 2008-09, and if SBF's lawyers are any good they'll get him off with much less prison time. Jesus, most murderers and rapists don't even get LWOP.
Quote
- The cofounder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto trading firm FTX was arrested in the Bahamas after the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government.
- His arrest is the first concrete move by regulators to hold individuals accountable for the multi-billion dollar implosion of FTX last month.
- Bankman-Fried is expected to be extradited to the United States.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities this evening after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government, setting the stage for extradition and U.S. trial for the onetime crypto billionaire at the heart of the crypto exchange’s collapse.
Bankman-Fried was expected to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. His arrest is the first concrete move by regulators to hold individuals accountable for the multi-billion dollar implosion of FTX last month.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Twitter that the federal government anticipated moving to “unseal the indictment in the morning.”
Bahamas Attorney General Ryan Pinder said that the United States was “likely to request his extradition.”
In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.”
“While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere,” continued the statement.
Bahamian regulators and FTX’s attorneys had been engaged in a bruising battle in chambers and in the court of public opinion. Earlier Monday, FTX attorneys accused the Bahamian government of allegedly working with Bankman-Fried to spirit away FTX assets from company control and into into crypto wallets controlled by Bahamian regulators. Bankman-Fried’s arrest by Bahamas law enforcement, as well as his expected extradition, suggest that close cooperation between the Bahamas and the U.S. will continue to evolve throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.
In November, FTX and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down from his role as CEO. The crypto trading firm imploded in spectacular fashion following a run on assets similar to a bank run.
FTX’s collapse was precipitated when reporting from CoinDesk revealed a highly concentrated position in self-issued FTT coins, which Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research used as collateral for billions in crypto loans. Binance, a rival exchange, announced it would sell its stake in FTT, spurring a massive withdrawal in funds. The company froze assets and declared bankruptcy days later. Reports later claimed that FTX had commingled customer funds with Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, and that billions in customer deposits had been lost along the way.
Bankman-Fried was replaced by John J. Ray III, who had overseen Enron’s bankruptcy. Ray is also scheduled to testify before Congress this week. In prepared remarks released Monday, Ray said that FTX went on a “spending binge” from late 2021 through 2022, when approximately ”$5 billion was spent buying a myriad of businesses and investments, many of which may be worth only a fraction of what was paid for them,” and that the firm made more than $1 billion in “loans and other payments...to insiders.”
Ray also confirmed media reports that FTX customer funds were commingled with assets from Alameda Research. Alameda used client funds to do margin trading, which exposed them to massive losses, Ray said.
Legal experts told CNBC that if the federal government pursues wire or bank fraud charges that Bankman-Fried could face life in prison without the possibility of supervised release. Such a severe punishment would be unusual but not extraordinary. Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, an effective life sentence, for his massive ponzi scheme. FTX’s collapse has already triggered the demise of BlockFi Lending, and has thrown the entire space into disarray.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/12/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-arrested-in-the-bahamas-after-us-files-criminal-charges.html
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Wow. Stuff is going down. Will there be a "free SBF" movement, the way Ross Ulbicht and other crypto celebrities in prison have enjoyed public support?
It seems that SBF was forewarned this was coming. His recent social media content has been very apologetic. And he did not attend that recent public hearing he was scheduled to have. At which time a subpoena was issued. And now it seems he has been arrested.
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