The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that more than approximately $1.8 billion came from about $1.1 billion. Other claims are still under investigation. SEC boss Gary Gensler spoke of a fraudulent “house of cards.”
Bankman-Fried was arrested the night before in November in the Bahamas, the headquarters of the FTX crypto empire that collapsed within days. Criminal investigations are also underway in the US against the operator of one of the formerly largest trading platforms for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Long prison sentence expected
Bankman-Fried will face a long prison sentence if extradited to the United States. The New York prosecutor’s indictment is still confidential, but is expected to be released on Tuesday.
Bankman-Fried’s FTX group collapsed a little over a month ago due to massive withdrawals of funds following liquidity concerns. Billions of client funds could not be paid. Bankman-Fried, known simply as SBF in the crypto industry, announced his resignation on November 11 and filed for bankruptcy for the group in the US state of Delaware.
In the US, investors who felt cheated filed class action suits against Bankman-Fried. The young entrepreneur was seen as a crypto genius and graced the front pages of US business publications like “Fortune” just a few months ago. (sda)