Sam Bankman-Fried, American entrepreneur and founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the nation’s capital, Nassau and is expected to make an appearance in court on Tuesday.
Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds.
According to a court filing last month, FTX owed nearly $3.1 billion (£2.5 billion) to its 50 largest creditors.
Damian Williams, US Attorney of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), confirmed the arrest in a tweet on Monday night.
Williams said the arrest was based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.
Bankman-Fried was once viewed as a young version of legendary US investor Warren Buffett, and as recently as late October, his net worth was estimated at more than $15 billion.
He had become well known in Washington DC as a political donor, mostly to Democratic politicians or groups, supposedly supporting pandemic prevention and improved crypto regulation.
Bankman-Fried will be held in custody “pursuant of our nation’s Extradition Act,” the Attorney General of the Bahamas said in a statement.
“Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York].
“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan said in a tweet.