The legal troubles are mounting for Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated on December 12th that it was preparing to bring charges against Alameda Research cofounder. These will be distinct from those which led to his recent arrest in the Bahamas.
In a statement on Twitter, the SEC tweeted a quote from its division of enforcement director Gurbir Grewal on Dec. 12 stating that the agency has “authorized separate charges relating to his violations of securities laws.”
Gurbir Grewal: We congratulate our law enforcement partners in securing Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest on federal criminal charges. Separate charges related to his violation of securities laws have been authorized by the SEC. They will be made public tomorrow in SDNY. https://t.co/ON0LgY4mf4
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) December 13, 2022
Grewal said the charges will be filed publicly “tomorrow” on Dec. 14 at the Southern District of New York.
Related: FTX was a ‘complete failure of corporate controls at all levels of an organization’, claims the new CEO
The SEC’s announcement comes only hours after news broke of Bankman-Fried’s arrest in the Bahamas.
Senator Ryan Pinder, Attorney General of the Bahamas, stated that the arrest was made after receiving notification from the United States stating that they had filed criminal charges against SBF. He is likely to ask for his extradition.
However, the charges have yet to be confirmed. understood They include wire and security fraud, conspiracy to perpetrate wire and securities theft and money laundering.
In his latest statement, the SEC’s Grewal commended the agency’s “law enforcement partners” for securing the arrest of Bankman-Fried on federal criminal charges.