Sam Bankman-Fried arrested and could receive a life sentence

The notorious founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, whose bankruptcy caused investors to lose billions of dollars, was arrested in the Bahamas. According to law enforcement agencies, the former billionaire’s detention was made possible by an indictment issued against him by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Issues related to the extradition of Sam Bankman-Fried to the United States are currently being resolved. Also today, SBF will stand trial in the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau.

Prosecutor Damian Williams promised to release the official indictment in the near future. However, the former billionaire is already accused of fraud and conspiracy by electronic means, securities fraud and money laundering. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also prepared a separate indictment regarding violations of U.S. securities law.

Earlier, there were rumors that Benkman-Fried had bribed US Democrats and that is why he remained at large. This theory was even supported by Elon Musk, who suggested that the actual amount of Fried’s sponsorship of the Democratic Party was even more than $ 1 billion.

Legal experts have emphasized that if the federal government brings charges of wire or bank fraud against Bankman-Fried, there is a high probability that the entrepreneur will be sentenced to life without the possibility of bail.

It is worth reminding that due to the large-scale FTX crash that affected the entire cryptocurrency market, Bankman-Fried has been increasingly compared to the infamous Do Kwon. However, he is currently hiding in Serbia, and South Korea needs to come up with an effective legal mechanism to request Kwon’s extradition. The founder of Terraform Labs is wanted not only by Interpol but also by defrauded investors.