Disgraced crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas today, the Department of Justice said. The Caribbean country’s attorney general’s office said the arrest came after US prosecutors formally charged the founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose wild history is a hot commodity in Hollywood.
Officials from both countries have shared details of the charges, but Bankman-Fried is expected to be extradited to the United States.
“Based on the notice received and the material provided by it, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek the arrest of SBF and detain him in accordance with our nation’s extradition law,” Attorney General Ryan Pinder said. of the Bahamas,’s office said in a statement.
FTX was valued at $32 billion by retail investors earlier this year and has been on the brink of collapse since last month when rival Binance objected to a proposed merger of the crypto giants. The news sent cryptocurrency markets into freefall, with Bankman-Fried saying at the time that his company was facing an $8 billion funding shortfall due to the stock market’s sudden “run.” In three days, traders withdrew about $6 billion from the platform.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11.
A number of corporations and celebrities are said to have made heavy investments in the company, while FTX has also secured major sponsorship deals with basketball team Miami Heat and Formula 1 team Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1. The crypto crash sparked a class-action lawsuit in mid-November whose defendants include Larry David and esports superstars Tom Brady and Steph Curry.
The Bankman-Fried story is the subject of a film and television series underway at Apple and Amazon, respectively. Late last month, Apple was close to a deal for the film rights to Michael Lewis’ upcoming book on the case, with sources putting the deal in the mid-seven figures. Lewis, who wrote the source books for the films Moneyball, the big card and The blind sidespent six months with the troubled entrepreneur before hitting rock bottom for Bankman-Fried.
Meanwhile, the Russo Brothers and David Weil created an eight-episode series on Amazon about FTX and its founder. Project details are subject to change.
Writer: Eric Pedersen
Source: Deadline
Bernice Bonaparte is an author and entertainment journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a passion for pop culture and a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest entertainment news, Bernice has become a trusted source for information on the entertainment industry.
