FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas at request of US

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday at the request of the United States, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.

"USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time," a tweet on the @SDNYnews Twitter account reads.

The collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange last month marked a blow to the crypto industry and markets, which had already been struggling through a downturn.

"On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of the Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried ("SBF"), former CEO of FTX. SBF's arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF and is likely to request his extradition," according to a statement from Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder.

"As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek SBF's arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation's Extradition Act," the statement noted. "At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States."

"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," Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said. "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."