Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Sam Bankman-Fried: Arrested crypto boss hugs parents as he is denied bail over 'one of biggest financial frauds in US history'

Sam Bankman-Fried: Arrested crypto boss hugs parents as he is denied bail over 'one of biggest financial frauds in US history'

The 30-year-old founder of FTX is being held on criminal charges over an alleged "brazen, multi-year" mass financial fraud, and faces up to 115 years in jail if convicted.

Former cryptocurrency exchange boss Sam Bankman-Fried hugged his parents after being denied bail on charges relating to "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history".

The 30-year-old founder of FTX, has been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud and violating campaign finance laws. He is also being sued.

Following his arrest in the Bahamas, a judge denied him bail, saying he was a "great" flight risk, and sent him to a local correctional facility instead.

Bankman-Fried will remain in custody in the Bahamas until at least 8 February.

The latest developments cap a stunning fall from grace in recent weeks for the man known as SBF, who amassed a fortune valued over $20bn (£16.2bn) as he rode a cryptocurrency boom to build FTX into one of the world's largest exchanges before it abruptly collapsed this year.

Bankman-Fried has previously apologised to customers and acknowledged oversight failings at FTX, but said he does not personally think he has any criminal liability.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Attorney Damian Williams in New York alleged Bankman-Fried had made illegal campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans with "stolen customer money," labelling it part of one of the "biggest financial frauds in American history".

Bankman-Fried faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts, prosecutors said.

He was arrested at his home in a gated community in the Bahamas capital, Nassau.

In the indictment unsealed on Tuesday morning, US prosecutors claimed Bankman-Fried had engaged in a scheme to defraud FTX's customers by misappropriating their deposits to pay for expenses and debts and to make investments on behalf of his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC.

He also defrauded lenders to Alameda by providing false and misleading information about the hedge fund's condition, and sought to disguise the money he had earned from committing wire fraud, it is alleged.



Both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged Mr Bankman-Fried committed fraud in lawsuits filed on Tuesday.

The CFTC sued him, Alameda and FTX, alleging fraud involving digital commodity assets.

Since at least May 2019, FTX raised more than $1.8bn from equity investors in a years-long "brazen, multi-year scheme" in which Bankman-Fried concealed FTX was diverting customer funds to Alameda Research, the SEC alleged.

Bankman-Fried, who founded FTX in 2019, was an unconventional figure who sported wild hair, t-shirts and shorts on panel appearances with statesmen like former American President Bill Clinton.

He became one of the largest Democratic donors, contributing $5.2m (£4.2m) to President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.

Forbes pegged his net worth a year ago at $26.5bn (£21.4bn).

FTX filed for bankruptcy on 11 November, leaving an estimated one million customers and other investors facing losses in the billions of dollars. SBF resigned as chief executive the same day.

The collapse reverberated across the crypto world and sent bitcoin and other digital assets plummeting.

John Ray, Bankman-Fried's successor as CEO, was called to testify before the House Financial Services Committee in the US Congress on Tuesday.

A crypto exchange is a platform on which investors can trade digital tokens such as bitcoin.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
×