The SEC has filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
The SEC has charged Bankman-Fried with violating the securities laws by engaging in fraud. Their complaint seeks injunctions against him that keep him from participating in the purchase, offer or sale of any securities for the next three years.
The SEC recently charged Bankman-Fried for orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors through the investing company FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX). The regulatory body noted that the former CEO concealed the “diversion of FTX customers’ funds to crypto trading firm Alameda Research while raising more than $1.8 billion from investors:”
“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. The fresh charges against the former CEO come just a day after his arrest by Bahamian authorities at the request of U.S. authorities. Just hours after Bankman-Fried’s arrest, SEC announced they were preparing to file charges against the FTX co-founder, which will be separate from those leading to his most recent arrest in the Bahamas.