The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

LAWYERS for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have filed a bail application in the Supreme Court, after the disgraced businessman was sent to prison on Tuesday.

The Tribune understands the matter will be heard in January.

The former billionaire was first denied bail the day after he was arrested by police at the request of the US government. Bankman-Fried faces several fraud charges in the US, including wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud.

 He also faces a warrant from the Southern District of New York and a federal warrant.

 The collapse of the crypto giant has grabbed local and international headlines, with some scrutiny and criticism being levelled at the Bahamas government.

 Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said he believes there is a lot of “overblown rhetoric” about FTX’s collapse.

 He described the crypto giant’s implosion as a “business failure”, saying such events happen in other countries all the time and added The Bahamas is no different.

 He was asked to respond to negative commentary in international media about the country’s digital regulatory framework and “the lack of transparency” from Bahamian regulators related to FTX’s downfall.

 “The jurisdiction in which the failure took place or has taken place has nothing to do with the actual alleged crimes or misdeeds,” Mr Mitchell told reporters on the sidelines of an event yesterday.

 “Fraud, for example, happens in any country. It doesn’t turn on the jurisdiction. So, it isn’t useful, in my view, at this juncture to be wagging fingers saying ‘this one’s at fault, and the next one’s at fault.’

 “The fact is, there was a business failure. We need to find out who is responsible and if we can get recovery for those people who were damaged, fine.

 “Those people who did wrong should be punished and that’s what’s going on. The Bahamas has an enviable reputation around the world. There have been business failures here before, we’ve survived those.”

 Mr Mitchell, who is also chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, said some jurisdictions like the United States have also seen “these kinds of massive business failures”, yet they still survived.

 He added: “And, I suspect we will survive.”

 FTX Digital Markets, which is headquartered in The Bahamas, is the Bahamian subsidiary of FTX Trading Ltd, the owner and operator of FTX.

 It was founded by Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, who resigned last month as CEO of the company after it came under heavy scrutiny last month following reports that it mismanaged customer assets.

 Bankman-Fried is likely to face extradition to the United States; though the former billionaire has said he will fight extradition.

 Asked whether he had any concerns about the country’s reputation being damaged if Bankman-Fried remains in the country, Mr Mitchell replied: “Well, look, as I said before this has all been done here before.”

 “The Shah of Iran, after he was deposed, came to The Bahamas, you know and so, this is the kind of country we have. We have a country, which is small, but has an important reputation in the world. People come here. Our laws are good. The regulations are good.

 “And we’re sometimes in the spotlight, Anna Nicole Smith, that was another one. You know, it happens. John Travolta, it happens. So here we are, again but our systems, I’m satisfied, are strong. There are no implications, as far as I can discover, in terms of our international relations with any state and I’m satisfied that at the end of the day, the systems will work the problems out, seeking to punish those who are responsible for any fraud which is proven and to compensate those to the extent that the law allows.”