Sam Bankman-Fried arrested

Founder and former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has been arrested in the Bahamas after a sealed indictment containing criminal charges was filed against him by the Southern District of New York.

The United States Attorney's office confirmed via Twitter that SBF was arrested at the behest of the United States Government resulting from alleged fraud that arose between a range of transactions and operations between FTX and its sister company Alameda Research.

FTX, Alameda, SBF and his associates have dominated headlines in the past month following the back-to-back collapse of FTX and Alameda Research, both founded by Mr Bankman-Fried, and both likely at the center of the upcoming proceedings.

Enforcement Director at the US Securities and Exchanges Commission Gurbir Grewal foreshadowed the SEC's own charges against SBF:

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.

According to the Bahamian Attorney General, Ryan Pinder, the United States is likely to request Mr Bankman-Fried's extradition. If approved, SBF will remain in custody and flown to the United States before appearing in court to defend the prosecution.