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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   29318 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 12, 2022

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Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities this evening after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government, setting the stage for extradition and U.S. trial for the onetime crypto billionaire at the heart of the crypto exchange’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried was expected to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. His arrest is the first concrete move by regulators to hold individuals accountable for the multi-billion dollar implosion of FTX last month.

There had been some speculation on when and even whether he would be arrested. Just yesterday someone told me to expect it to take two years. So, why right before tomorrow's hearing? And why not wait for him to give more interviews and provide more evidence?

You got there just before me 😁 So, this happened faster than I expected, but everyone downthread saying he'd never be arrested/it wouldn't be for years, seems we were all wrong.

As to why now right before the hearing? No idea, unless (1) somebody (Ellison?) dropped a lot of testimony into their laps so they could do it now or (2) they had reason to suspect he wasn't going to turn up but was going to do a runner or (3) it's simply because there has been so much talk going around about "he donated all this money to the Democrats, he's bought his freedom" and this isn't a good look for the current administration to be suspected of 'get away with crime thanks to bribery'.

EDIT: News just in! Allegedly he refused to testify before the committee, so looks like if he wouldn't co-operate, he's going to face the consequences:

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is refusing to testify at a hearing this week about his company’s implosion, the Senate Banking Committee said Monday.

Attorneys for the crypto platform’s founder have also said Bankman-Fried, who is based in the Bahamas, will not accept service of a subpoena to compel his testimony before the panel, senators said.

Bankman-Fried is scheduled to appear at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday that will focus on his company’s collapse.

In a joint statement, Senate Banking Chair Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and ranking member Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said they have “offered Sam Bankman-Fried two different dates for providing testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and are willing to accommodate virtual testimony.”

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is refusing to testify at a hearing this week about his company’s implosion, the Senate Banking Committee said Monday.

I guess he's learning the benefit of taking the 5th, huh. about a month late

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