The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Bahamian authorities arrested former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) at the request of the US government on 13 December. The arrest came just one day before FTX’s co-founder was scheduled to testify before the US Congress.

Sam Bankman-Fried under investigation in two countries

Bankman-Fried was allegedly accused of wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, and money laundering. After his arrest, which created quite a stir in the crypto world, the Royal Bahamas Police Force issued an official statement, which confirmed that the offences for which SBF was charged in the United States were also illegal in the Bahamas.

Philip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said that both countries have a vested interest in holding all individuals associated with FTX accountable, as they betrayed the public trust and broken the law.

According to a Bloomberg report on 10 December, a federal probe will look into SBF’s role in transferring FTX funds to the Bahamas. The Department of Justice officials met with FTX’s court-appointed overseers to talk about the information required for further investigation. The Department also intended to look into whether SBF laundered FTX funds to Alameda Research.

At the same time, Bahamian authorities were also investigating FTX. Barely two weeks ago, the Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder announced that both civil and criminal authorities were investigating the operations of FTX Digital Markets. The Securities Commission, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the Financial Crimes unit of Bahamas were involved in the case.

Newly appointed FTX CEO John Jay Ray III testified before the House Financial Services Committee on 13 December. He said that although he won’t comment on SBF’s statements, he will keep seeking information from him regarding the ongoing investigation.