FTX Under Criminal Investigation in the Bahamas After Crypto Exchange Collapsed, Police Say

Topline

Royal Bahamas Police are investigating Sam Bankman-Fried’s now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange for possible criminal misconduct, the department said in a statement on Sunday, marking the latest development in the giant’s implosion. of crypto and the fall of Bankman-Fried.

Highlights

To monitor

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice are also investigating FTX, including whether the company should have registered some of its securities with the SEC before selling them to investors. the the wall street journal reported.

Key context

Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of FTX last week and the company, along with more than 100 affiliated entities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, following a liquidity crunch that led to the collapse of one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Bankman-Fried said the company saw about $5 billion in withdrawals in one day after Changpeng Zhao, CEO of rival Binance, announced his firm would sell all of its holdings in the FTX crypto token. Binance’s decision came days after Coindesk reported that Alameda held a significant portion of its assets in a token issued by FTX (Bankman-Fried initially called concerns about FTX’s financial health “unfounded rumors”). Several media outlets reported later this FTX lent billions dollars to Alameda, including some customer funds. The price of the FTX token fell 86% in three days after the withdrawals and sent bitcoin, ethereum and Coinbase exchange shares down 20% or more. Binance briefly moved to acquire FTX on Tuesday to “help cover the liquidity crisis”, but the company removed later of the deal, citing due diligence and “reports of mismanaged client funds and alleged US agency investigations,” setting the stage for FTX to file for bankruptcy.

Large number

$32 billion. That was FTX’s valuation at the end of last year. Bankman-Fried, who was worth $26 billion at the time, admitted he was no longer a billionaire following the company’s collapse.

Further reading

Sam Bankman-Fried is no longer a billionaire, even if he concedes it (Forbes)

FTX Files For Bankruptcy – Former Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried Steps Down As CEO (Forbes)