Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas

A representative for the Manhattan office of the U.S. Attorney confirmed that Bankman-Fried had been detained in The Bahamas but would not elaborate on the charges.

The Bahamas Attorney General Ryan Pinder's office stated: "As a result of the notification received and the material presented therewith, it was judged necessary for the Attorney General to seek SBF's arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation's Extradition Act."

It was impossible to get in touch with Bankman-attorney Fried's right away for comment.

In a series of interviews and appearances in front of the public in late November and early December, Bankman-Fried acknowledged risk management shortcomings but sought to distance himself from fraud allegations, claiming he never purposefully mixed up customer funds on FTX with funds at his proprietary trading company, Alameda Research.

In an interview with the New York Times on November 30, Bankman-Fried stated, "I didn't ever try to commit fraud," and he added that he doesn't believe he is legally responsible.

In one of the most publicized cryptocurrency meltdowns, FTX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11 after users withdrew $6 billion from the platform in just three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue plan.

According to Reuters, which cited two persons with knowledge of the situation, Bankman-Fried surreptitiously transferred $10 billion of FTX customer cash to Alameda, which led to the liquidity crisis. The folks claimed that at least $1 billion in client funds had disappeared.

The day before FTX filed for bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried announced his resignation as CEO of the company.