The Attorney General of the Bahamas, Ryan Pinder, announced the extradition on Wednesday of the previously arrested FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The order for Bankman-Fried’s extradition was signed the day before by the Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for making the decision on extradition.
Recall that the arrest of the former head of FTX took place on December 12 in the Bahamas after the U.S. attorney’s office was charged with 8 counts of violation of laws, including fraud using electronic means, conspiracy to launder money and violation of campaign finance laws.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office requested a temporary arrest warrant for Bankman-Fried pending his extradition in accordance with the Extradition Treaty between the two countries. During his first hearing after his arrest, Bankman-Fried expressed his refusal to extradite. However, after receiving a judicial refusal of bail, the FTX head changed his mind and waived his right to challenge his extradition to the United States.
The collapse of FTX occurred a month earlier after the publication in the media of information about suspiciously close ties between the crypto exchange and the company Alameda Research. The amount of damage caused to creditors from the fraudulent activities of Sam Bankman-Fried, according to experts, is about $10 billion.