US charges 'crypto king' Bankman-Fried with fraud

1. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is accused of eight offences including wire fraud and violation of campaign finance laws.
2. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who filed the charges, called it "one of the biggest financial frauds" in US history
3. Bankman-Fried was arrested in The Bahamas on Monday and is expected to be extradited to the US
4. He also faces civil action from two US financial watchdogs
5. Bankman-Fried denies fraud but told the BBC last week that he was "not nearly as competent as I thought I was"
6. The 30-year-old went from billionaire to broke overnight in November, stunning the crypto community
7. FTX now owes top investors an estimated $3.1bn (£2.6bn), according to bankruptcy filings
8. The FTX crypto exchange, which allowed people to trade normal money for Bitcoin, was once estimated at $32bn (£27bn)

Bankman-Fried accused of 'one of the biggest financial frauds in American history'

We're closing our live coverage but you can read more here. Today we brought you the latest following the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.

Here's a quick summary of what we've learned today:

• FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been charged by the US government with eight criminal counts, including defrauding investors and violating political campaign finance laws
• Laying out the charges, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, described Bankman-Fried's actions as being among the "largest financial frauds in American history"
• These come on top of civil charges filed by US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Bankman-Fried went to court in Nassau in the Bahamas, where he lives, after the US requested his arrest and extradition to face the charges
• His attorney has requested bail and cited Bankman-Fried's mental health challenges
• Meanwhile, the company's new CEO, John Ray III, has testified before the US Congress about FTX
• He described FTX as a firm run without any corporate governance, internal controls, or risk management. He heavily criticised the conduct of Bankman-Fried and other executives at the crypto exchange

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Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer requests bail

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyer has requested bail for his client in the Bahamas magistrate court.

He said Bankman-Fried had suffered from depression, insomnia and ADHD for longer than a decade - and took medication for them.

He applauded his client, who he said had "ample opportunity to flee but remained in the Bahamas to make things right for FTX customers".

Where did FTX’s money go?

Getty Images

FTX was an exchange that made money by charging people to buy, sell, hold and lend cryptocurrencies, as well as make other kinds of trades.

It filed for bankruptcy last month after people who had lodged their crypto holdings on the exchange rushed to pull their funds, after reports sparked fears about its finances.

Now the company is struggling to come up with the money to repay everyone. It is reportedly missing about $8bn (£6bn), raising questions about where the money went – and whether those gaps arise from violating any laws.

We already know that some of the funds went to Alameda, a hedge fund that was also founded by Sam Bankman-Fried.

That firm made risky bets in crypto, exposing FTX client funds to losses, according to testimony from FTX’s current leaders.

The company also spent $1bn on loans and other payments to “insiders”.

Another roughly $5bn went to other crypto firms, after the company went on what was described as a “spending binge” to bail out other struggling firms in the sector. Many of those investments are likely “worth a fraction” of what was paid.

'One of the biggest financial frauds in American history' - attorney

Attorney Williams continues to answer questions.

He says he refuses to be drawn on who is, or isn't, cooperating with the investigation.

"I'm not going to get ahead of ourselves with what we may or may not seek when [Bankman-Fried] is here. He is currently in the Bahamas."

Williams remains tight-lipped, as he promised at the beginning of the press conference, but adds that "this is one of the biggest financial frauds in American history".

No more questions - the press conference is over.

US Attorney: 'We are not done' with investigation

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, is taking questions now, and has just been asked about the process of arresting and extraditing Sam Bankman-Fried from the Bahamas.

He says that the extradition process is ongoing. He doesn't have anything further to add.

On the speed of the arrest, he acknowledges that it has happened quickly, but says "we are not done" with the investigation.

'The rippling consequences of the fraud are vast' - trade commission

A representative from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says the agency has ascertained $8bn (£6bn) in customer losses as of today as a result of the FTX collapse.

They allege that fraudulent use of customer funds was inconsistent with both FTX's terms of service and with public statements made by Sam Bankman-Fried.

"The rippling consequences of the fraud are vast," they say.

Bankman-Fried misused customer funds from the start - SEC

The director of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gurbir Grewal, is laying out the financial regulator's "parallel civil complaint" against Sam Bankman-Fried.

He says FTX operated under a "veneer of legitimacy" by claiming that customer funds were safe, segregated and secure.

Grewal adds this "veneer wasn't just thin, it was fraudulent" - adding that Bankman-Fried has been misusing customer funds since the firm was founded in 2017.

He says a key takeaway from the collapse of FTX is that non-compliant trading platforms "pose dramatic risks to customers", adding that "non-compliant platforms should come into compliance".

Government hopes to help victims recover funds

The US District Attorney for New York and the FBI say that pulling together the indictment that led to Bankman-Fried's arrest took tremendous coordination and cooperation between many agencies.

They accuse Bankman-Fried of preying on his customers, calling them "victims".

They say they are determined to help victims get a sense of justice, and recover as much of their funds as possible.

'Come see us before we come and see you'

Williams issues a call for "anyone who participated in wrongdoing or has not yet come forward, I strongly encourage to come see us before we come and see you".

He describes the investigation into the crypto firm as "complex and spiralling", adding that he and his colleagues "embrace that kind of challenge".

Williams says it's "all hands on deck" to investigate the company, and thanks his team for their hard work.

Bankman-Fried accused of illegally using money in politics

Attorney Williams is going through each charge and expanding upon them.

In addition to accusing Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud with lenders, investors, and customers, the indictment alleges that Bankman-Fried misused funds for political reasons.

Williams alleges that Bankman-Fried used "dirty money to buy bipartisan influence and impact direction of public policy in Washington".

Bankman-Fried's conduct summarised by US prosecutors

The US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, has begun to lay out the charges.

He says for "every day of past month, we have been working around the clock figuring out what happened and seeking justice".

The US Attorney's office has created a sign to lay out the "conduct alleged in the indictment" against Sam Bankman-Fried. Williams says that conduct can be categorised into four areas.

The bullet points read:

• "Bankman-Fried defrauded customers of FTX.com, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded;
• He defrauded lenders to Alameda Research, his proprietary crypto hedge fund;
• He defrauded investors in FTX;
• And violated campaign finance laws."

Press conference on Bankman-Fried charges coming up

The US Attorney's Office in New York, who have filed eight criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, is about to hold a press conference.

Stick with us for updates on the charges, which include defrauding customers and breaking US political campaign finance laws.

No way SBF was unaware about 'comingling' of customer funds - Ray

Getty Images

The marathon US Congress hearing with John Ray III is still going on, where the FTX CEO continues to be highly critical of the way the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange was run.

Ray has just told the House Financial Services Committee that there is no way his predecessor, Sam Bankman-Fried, was unaware of "comingling of funds" from FTX investors with those of his investment firm Alameda research.

Earlier, he also told the committee that he does not believe FTX had enough money or assets to cover its debts, even before its rival exchange Binance publicly accused it of being insolvent - which caused customers to rush to get their money out and the subsequent collapse in the firm's value.

What is Sam Bankman-Fried accused of in the US?

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing civil and criminal charges in the US.

Financial regulators – the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission – have brought civil charges. The two agencies accuse him of fraud, saying he misled people about how FTX was using their assets and misappropriated funds.

Prosecutors in New York allege he criminally defrauded investors, lenders and customers and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money, as well as violating campaign finance laws. We'll be hearing more from them at a press conference in just over half an hour - you'll be able to watch by clicking at the top of the page.

Reuters

Sam Bankman Fried was defiant on eve of arrest

Forbes has published what it says is the testimony that Sam Bankman-Fried had planned to give to Congress today.

In it, he apologises, using an expletive to say he messed up. He says he will judge himself by “one metric: whether I have eventually been able to make customers whole”.

But he also remains strikingly defiant.

He says he deeply regrets “giving into pressure” from his attorneys that ended with FTX filing for bankruptcy, and criticises the current management team, saying it has ignored his efforts to be helpful.

He also tries to distance himself from his hedge fund, Alameda – which is at the heart of the charges against him - asserting that he was not running it.

Handout image via Reuters

CEO Ray investigating if Bankman-Fried's parents involved in FTX

Responding to questions from Republican congressman Bill Huizenga earlier, FTX CEO John Ray III says his team is "investigating" whether Sam Bankman-Fried's parents were involved in running the firm before its collapse.

During the exchange, Huizenga also told Ray that Bankman-Fried's father was with the former crypto billionaire at a meeting in his office before the FTX founder gave testimony last year.

Bankman-Fried comes from a wealthy California family and both of his parents, Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, are professors at Stanford Law School.

What have we learned so far?

If you're just joining us, or are in need of a catch-up, here's what we've learned so far today about the collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX:

• FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been charged by the US government with eight criminal counts, including defrauding investors and violating political campaign finance laws
• These come on top of civil charges filed by US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Bankman-Fried is currently in court at Nassau in the Bahamas where he lives, after the US requested his arrest and extradition to face the charges
• At the same time, a hearing is under way in the US Congress with the company's new CEO, John Ray III
• Ray is testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, describing FTX as a firm which was run without any corporate governance, internal controls, or risk management

Bankman-Fried to contest automatic extradition to the US - reports

Sam Bankman-Fried is a flight risk and should not be granted bail, authorities in the Bahamas told a court on Tuesday, according to reports.

Meanwhile the former FTX boss said he would contest any automatic extradition to the US. His attorneys also argued that he was not a flight risk.

He appeared relaxed, according to reporters in the room.

Problems at FTX were brewing for years

Samira Hussain

Reporting from US Capitol

John Ray got access to FTX’s books only last month. In that amount of time, he’s uncovered one of the worst of management practices and a complete failure of corporate control he has ever seen.

In his testimony to US lawmakers, Ray went further saying the problems at FTX “is not something that happened overnight or within the course of a week”.

He went on to say that within the last year, FTX went on the equivalent of a spending binge and that this was a company destined to fail.

It will take a long time for Ray to pick through the wreckage of FTX, once the second largest crypto platform, which now draws comparisons to Bernie Madoff level of deception.

WATCH: BBC interview with Bankman-Fried

Last week, Sam Bankman-Fried told the BBC he did not know customers’ money was being used to make risky financial bets.

Bankman-Fried invited the BBC to the residential complex in the Bahamas where he lives days before he was arrested.

Speaking to the BBC’s reporter Joe Tidy he insisted he was not lying when asked about comments from a former employee who said Bankman-Fried must have known about transfers from FTX to a hedge fund he founded called Alameda Research.

Asked if he planned to start a new business venture to earn the money to pay investors back, he said: "I would give anything to be able to do that. And I'm going to try if I can.”

Sam Bankman-Fried: I don't know what the future will hold, but I want to pay people back