This illustration photo shows a smart phone screen displaying the logo of FTX, the crypto exchange platform, with a screen showing the FTX website in the background in Arlington, Virginia on February 10, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:40 PM PT – Tuesday, December 13, 2022
U.S prosecutors have announced several charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors.
According to a criminal indictment on Tuesday, Fried is charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy. That includes conspiring to defraud the United States and breaking campaign finance laws.
Prosecutors allege he did this while raising more than $1.8 billion dollars from FTX investors who bought an equity stake in the exchange. At the time, investors were led to believe that FTX had appropriate controls and risk management measures in place.
American regulators have received harsh criticism from politicians for their failure to predict the collapse of FTX, which at first glance makes U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s hasty disclosure of charges seem reactionary.
The Bahamian police announced that Mr. Bankman-Fried was detained at his apartment complex just after 6 o’clock on Monday. Fried is expected to be extradited to the United States.