On Monday, December 12, SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried), the former CEO of FTX Corporation, was arrested by Royal Bahamas Police Force due to the filing of criminal charges made against him by the United States government. SBF could be extradited and tried in the US if found guilty.
“The criminal charges against Mr. Bankman-Fried included wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering, said a person with knowledge of the matter.” [1]
Although it’s not certain how many billions of dollars have been lost due to the collapse of FTX, at least $1 billion of customer funds were stolen through a “back door”, and the figure could actually be closer to a staggering $10 billion! [2]
Footage of the arrest was shared by media outlets and on social media
The New York Post came out with an extremely witty headline to cover the story [3]
Is the US Government Putting Their Foot Down?
Renato Moriatto believes the US government is trying to send a message with the arrest of SBF
Mariotti, a former United States attorney (an official of the U.S. Department of Justice) prosecuted white-collar crimes including commodities and securities fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax evasion.
Moriatto believes the US government is trying to send a message with the arrest of SBF
“From the DOJ’s perspective, SBF was spreading misinformation and was creating a lack of confidence in the regulators to police the market,” he said about Bankman-Fried’s string of media appearances.
“The Biden administration believes that the digital asset space is unregulated and thinks that crypto firms can get away with anything,” Mariotti said. That is why federal regulators are “eager to plant a flag and send a message.”
FTX Contagion
With the contagion from the FTX collapse still ripping through the crypto world, it has already affected companies like BlockFi and more.
A large number of crypto companies have revealed some degree of exposure to the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. These companies include Binance, Genesis, Galaxy Digital, Coinshares, Coinbase and others. With FTX having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it remains unclear whether these entities will ever be able to recover their funds connected to FTX.
SBF Made Massive Political Donations
Bankman-Fried contributed more than $70 million to election campaigns in only 18 months, putting him amongst the top political donors in the United States. He contributed at least $40 million to politicians and political action committees before the 2022 midterm elections, mainly to the Democrat Party and left-of-centre groups, making him the second largest Democratic donor, just behind George Soros, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
US Press Secretary Gets Pressed
The US President’s Press Secretary has just been questioned about a $5 million donation to his campaign made by Sam Bankman-Fried, she replied
“I’m limited on what I can say and anything that’s connected to political contributions from here, I would have to refer you to the DNC,”
“I’m asking the president’s opinion, though”
“You asked me two questions: You asked me about will he return donations and then you asked me about his opinion. I’m answering the first part, which is I’m covered by the Hatch Act from here. I’m limited on what I can say. And I just can’t talk to political contributions, or anything related to that. ‘I cannot speak to that from here.”
Tucker Carlson Comments
Tucker Carlson also jumped in on the FTX fiasco when he stated what he thinks about the arrest of FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried is REALLY all about
“Clearly somebody in a position of power did not want to hear what SBF had to say.”
What are your thoughts about Sam Bankman-Fried and will FTX creditors ever get their money backl? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by JayXBT
