Sam Bankman-Fried trial timeline: When will FTX founder face court?
By Alara Jordan
Updated
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, was arrested in the Bahamas on 12 December at the request of US authorities. The arrest at his Bahamian base came just before he was due to testify in front of the US Congress the next day.
Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York confirmed the arrest via Twitter. Williams said: “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
With Bankman-Fried's absence after his arrest, the newly appointed chief executive of FTX, John J. Ray III, who was given the job after the company’s bankruptcy, will testify during the hearing on 13 December.
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.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022
‘Orchestrated scheme to defraud investors’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on 13 December that Bankman-Fried had been charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.
The charges say the former chief executive of FTX, who was once worth an estimated $15bn, orchestrated a scheme to “defraud equity investors in FTX”, with SEC chair Gary Gensler stating that 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.”
The SEC statement said: “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws. To those platforms that don’t comply with our securities laws, the SEC’s Enforcement Division is ready to take action."
Bankman-Fried had previously Tweeted to confirm that he would testify in front of the US Congress and “try to be helpful” to help identify his own failures in the downfall of FTX and his role as CEO.
A leaked document obtained by Forbes shows his planned testimony to Congress, and highlights how the former CEO says he was pressured into submitting FTX and its subsidiaries for Chapter 11 bankrupty, a claim he has been vocal about previously before.
The hearing started at 10am EST, with John J. Ray III listed at the witness set to testify, with further updates on Bankman-Fried's trial and fradulent charges set to follow.
Today we charged FTX Trading Ltd CEO and co-founder Samuel Bankman-Fried with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors. Investigations as to other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022
