FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Charged by US SEC For Defrauding Investors Out of Billions of Dollars

FTX was plugged by celebrities in advertising campaigns, and the cyber whiz kid became a regular presence in Washington.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 13 December 2022 17:40 IST

FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Charged by US SEC For Defrauding Investors Out of Billions of Dollars

Photo Credit: Reuters

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on Monday

Highlights

Sam Bankman-Fried was set to testify at US House Committee before arrest
Former FTX CEO allegedly misused funds belonging to the firm's customers
Sam Bankman-Fried donated millions of dollars in political contributions

The US Securities and Exchange Commission charged disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried on Tuesday with defrauding customers out of billions of dollars, a day after he was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of the United States.

"Today we are holding Mr. Bankman-Fried responsible for fraudulently raising billions of dollars from investors in FTX and misusing funds belonging to FTX's trading customers," the exchange said in a statement.

"We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

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The statement added investigations "as to other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing."

Bankman-Fried's FTX platform was plugged by celebrities in advertising campaigns, and the cyber whiz kid became a regular presence in Washington, where he donated tens of millions of dollars in political contributions.

But after reaching a valuation of $32 billion, FTX's implosion was swift following a November 2 report on ties between FTX and Alameda, a trading company also controlled by Bankman-Fried.

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The report exposed that Alameda's balance sheet was heavily built on the FTT currency -- a token created by FTX with no independent value.

Will crypto tax hurt the industry in India? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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