The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Bankman-Fried bought D.C. influence by spending ‘dirty money,’ prosecutors say

FTX CEO John J. Ray III, who is guiding the collapsed crypto company through bankruptcy, testified before the House Committee on Financial Services on Dec. 13. (Video: Joy Yi/The Washington Post, Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg/The Washington Post)
By
Updated December 13, 2022 at 7:59 p.m. EST|Published December 13, 2022 at 7:34 a.m. EST
Listen
1 min

Federal prosecutors charged Sam Bankman-Fried with multiple counts of fraud on Tuesday, just hours after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the disgraced FTX founder of orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors.

The indictments against Bankman-Fried accuse him moving billions of dollars illegally from FTX to Alameda. Prosecutors describe it as a “dirty money” scheme that helped fuel Bankman-Fried’s effort “to buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington.”

Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee forged ahead with a hearing into the cryptocurrency exchange’s recent implosion despite the arrest Monday night of Bankman-Fried, its star witness, who was taken into custody in the Bahamas after U.S. officials requested his extradition.  

Here’s what to know

  • The entrepreneur is facing charges in one criminal and two civil cases.
  • A judge in the Bahamas denied bail to Bankman-Fried.
  • At a House hearing, FTX’s new chief executive, John J. Ray III, described the events that led to FTX’s downfall as “plain old embezzlement” and said customers will not recover all their money. Ray was brought into the company to manage the bankruptcy.
Press Enter to skip to end of carousel

Here's what to know:

The entrepreneur is facing charges in one criminal and two civil cases.
A judge in the Bahamas denied bail to Bankman-Fried.
At a House hearing, FTX’s new chief executive, John J. Ray III, described the events that led to FTX’s downfall as “plain old embezzlement” and said customers will not recover all their money. Ray was brought into the company to manage the bankruptcy.

1/3

End of carousel
Live contributors
Press Enter to skip to end of carousel
ToryNewmyer
End of carousel
Loading...