Fighting Extradition

On Monday, MSN posted an article about the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas. He is fighting extradition to America. It should also be noted that his arrest will prevent him from testifying before Congress. Hmm. I suspect, based on the information that has leaked out about where his money went, that the Democrats’ (and possibly some Republicans) worse nightmare is to have this man questioned by Congressmen who actually care about law and order.

The article reports:

A day after he was arrested at a luxury apartment in the Bahamas, Sam Bankman-Fried declared he would fight extradition to the United States, where he faces charges by multiple federal agencies, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, securities fraud and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. The founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX told Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt that he would not waive his right to an extradition hearing.

In the Bahamas Magistrate Court on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried’s local attorney Jerone Roberts urged the court to grant bail; citing a lack of jurisdiction and that Bankman-Fried is a permanent resident of the Bahamas, according to the Nassau Guardian. (Bahamian media has previously questioned whether the FTX founder is a permanent resident.) Prosecutors argued Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk, and should not be granted bail. Bankman-Fried’s parents were reportedly present; at one point, police escorted a family member to his residence in Albany to retrieve his medication.

Neither Roberts nor Bahamian government officials could be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The article concludes:

At the same time as Bankman-Fried’s court appearance, new FTX CEO John J. Ray III testified before the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing on the crypto investigation. Ray claimed that while his investigation is ongoing, the downfall of FTX “appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money or assets.

Bankman-Fried was also scheduled to appear before the congressional committee but was arrested hours prior. Forbes obtained and published his written testimony, in which he blamed numerous associates for the fall and decline of FTX, including Ray, who he claimed had shut him out of attempts to restore FTX US customer funds.

I don’t expect that he will ever actually be questioned by Congress, but that is simply a guess.