The Tribune

THE news of the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest feels as if it has been both inevitable and strangely overdue.

The FTX founder has talked repeatedly in somewhat colourful language about how the collapse of the business falls on his shoulders.

He has spoken in podcasts of interviews quite freely about practices that sound very questionable.

Meanwhile, there was a seeming back and forth about whether he would or would not testify before the US House Financial Services Committee in messages on social media between him and California representative Maxine Waters.

That committee will proceed with its hearing today – but Mr Bankman-Fried shall be otherwise engaged following his detention.

The legal process will now proceed, with it seeming apparent that there will be moves to extradite Mr Bankman-Fried from his Bahamian home to face charges in the US.

The sheer scale of the collapse has of course attracted global interest and there will be huge questions over the structure of the business and the checks and safeguards it operated, or the lack thereof.

Of particular pertinence to The Bahamas are questions about how FTX was able to reopen withdrawals despite a freeze order on its assets. In that process, about $100m was released to 1,500 clients supposedly from The Bahamas.

Who received those funds will be of particular interest, especially if those funds are to be pursued by liquidators for reclamation.

Mr Bankman-Fried’s emails with Attorney General Ryan Pinder are also now in the spotlight, with Mr Bankman-Fried having emailed Mr Pinder about those funds being released to Bahamian customers.

He said: “We would be more than happy to open up withdrawals for all Bahamian customers on FTX, so that they can, tomorrow, fully withdraw all of their assets, making them fully whole. It’s your call whether you want us to do this, but we are more than happy to and would consider it the very least of our duty to the country, and could open it up immediately if you reply saying you want us to. If we don’t hear back from you, we are going to go ahead and do it tomorrow.”

Let us be clear – there is no evidence that has been presented that Mr Pinder or any other Cabinet minister or government official gave the go-ahead for Mr Bankman-Fried to go ahead with his proposal. But he did indeed proceed.

FTX’s Bahamian attorney, former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson, was copied on the email.

There is also the question of what will happen to the property portfolio bought up in The Bahamas by FTX – and there is a legal bid to make the case pertaining to that part of the saga heard here rather than in Delaware.

Today, in the Southern District of New York, an indictment is due to be unsealed against Mr Bankman-Fried. Reportedly, the charges are to include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

This will be a big case, and Mr Bankman-Fried has of course to be given every opportunity to defend himself.

For The Bahamas, we need to know very specific answers related to our part in the process – including when people knew of steps being taken, and what was done to prevent improper actions.

We must keep a close eye on what these proceedings reveal – and rest assured, we shall.

Oban again

In today’s Tribune Business, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis offers a new defence over the Oban debacle that tarnished his administration.

You may recall the $5.5bn deal being unveiled with much excitement at a Heads of Agreement signing – only for it all to unravel after questions were raised over the people fronting Oban.

Dr Minnis during his term as Prime Minister admitted to “mis-steps”, while saying that “our heart was in the right place”.

In 2018, he admitted “more comprehensive due diligence” should have been done.

Now, he’s pointing the finger of blame at the former Perry Christie administration, saying they are the ones who should have done the due diligence.

Come off it, Dr Minnis. For a project of any size, you don’t accept someone else’s say on the matter – you do your own homework. For a deal with a $5.5bn price tag, you absolutely make sure that everyone involved lives up to their promised reputation. It didn’t take long for The Tribune to pick holes in the Oban deal – so why didn’t the Minnis administration do that same diligence?

This isn’t the first time Dr Minnis has tried to point the finger at his political opponents over Oban – he tried to do so previously when pointing out the company came before the National Economic Council during the Christie administration. But you can’t blame anyone else if you haven’t checked the details yourself.