SEC Pulls The Trigger at Crypto Exchange FTX’s SBF

SBF was arrested on December 12 in the Bahamas.
The broke man has been charged with dozens of charges by authorities.

“White Knight” Fully Washed-Out

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and co-founder of now bust cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is drowning in a swamp of charges laid by authorities.

As per media reports, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler, said in a statement, that “We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto.”

According to CNBC, Federal authorities have charged SBF of misusing customer funds (tens of millions of dollars) to facilitate political campaigns of both Republican and Democratic parties. As per legal experts, he could also face multiple criminal and civil charges from FTX’s millions of creditors.

According to the Washington Post Analysis of Federal Election Commission data, FTX’s former CEO is among the Top 10 “significant donors” in the U.S. midterm elections 2022. Back in May 2022, SBF announced that he may donate more than $100 million in the 2024 presidential election.

On December 13, SEC posted on Twitter, the statement of Gurbir Grewal, Director of the SEC’s division of enforcement,

Gurbir Grewal: We commend our law enforcement partners for securing the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried on federal criminal charges. The SEC has authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws, to be filed publicly tomorrow in SDNY. https://t.co/ON0LgY4mf4
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022

End to the road?

Also the co-founder of the trading desk Alameda Research, SBF, was arrested on December 12 at 6:00 p.m. at his home located in Albany, Bahamas, by the Royal Bahamas Police Force at the request of the U.S. government. As stated by the US Attorney Damian Williams, “based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York]. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

The Senator Ryan Pinder, the attorney general of the Bahamas, followed the SBF arrest after the issuance of notice accused him of criminal charges, and to “hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.”

As reported by the New York Times, Federal prosecutors charged SBF of being involved in money laundering, securities fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy.The SEC said in a civil complaint, that “From the start, Bankman-Fried improperly diverted customer assets to his privately-held crypto hedge fund, and then used those customer funds to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.”

According to CNN Business, SBF may get imprisoned for 115 years if proved guilty on all eight counts, as per the congressional statutory maximum sentencing guidelines. Also, the bail application was rejected by Chief Magistrate of the Bahamas Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing