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FTX attorney James Bromley told Dorsey that the Bahamian government has previously obtained information from FTX Digital Market's liquidators and used it to siphon digital assets away from FTX. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) has previously disputed FTX's "misstatements" about the Bahamian government's response to FTX's collapse. Chris Shore, an attorney for the Bahamas-based liquidators, told Dorsey that the liquidators were not working at the direction of the Bahamian government. Dorsey began the hearing by asking whether FTX and the Bahamas liquidators could reach a compromise on data sharing before Bromley shot that suggestion down. "Unlike the Chapter 11 process, there is no transparency in the process in the Bahamas," Ray said.

☆ Premarket stocks: Investors are hoping for the economic tide to turn. The wait may soon be over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What’s happening: Price increases in the United States cooled more than economists expected last month, recording the lowest level of growth since last December. This is the second consecutive month of moderating price pressures and could mean the underlying trend of inflation is finally decelerating. That’s a welcome and hopeful sign for consumers, policymakers and investors, said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The bill specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, as social media companies for the purposes of the legislation. In the past two weeks, at least seven states have introduced such measures, including Maryland, South Dakota and Utah.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was part of a secret chat group called 'Wirefraud' alongside other top FTX executives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was in a secret chat group called "Wirefraud" in a tweet on Monday. The former FTX CEO was arrested and charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy this week. Although the chat group was set up to keep communications hidden, the contents of it will become public throughout legal proceedings, AFR reported. FTX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the chat group, made outside of normal working hours. Hours after Bankman-Fried denied involvement in the chat group, he was arrested by Bahamian authorities.

☆ G20 wants to build policy consensus on crypto assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The Group of 20 (G20) countries are striving to build a policy consensus on crypto assets to inform better global regulation, India's federal economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said on Wednesday. India, which currently holds the G20 presidency, is hosting the group's first meeting of finance and central bank deputies on Dec. 13-15 in Bengaluru. The implications of crypto assets for the economy, monetary policy and the banking sector should be studied to inform this consensus, Seth said at a news conference on the second day of the forum. In fact, one of the priorities which have been put on the table is to help countries build a consensus for policy approach to the crypto assets," he said. India, the world's third largest economy and second-most populous nation, assumed the G20 presidency for the first time earlier this month, taking over from Indonesia.

☆ Parents of Sam Bankman-Fried face scrutiny over their roles in FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Now, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the FTX founder’s parents, may face legal troubles of their own. Bankman-Fried’s lawyer declined to comment when asked about scrutiny of his parents. The new CEO of FTX is John Ray III, a restructuring expert tasked with shepherding the company through its complex bankruptcy. They have told friends that their son’s legal bills will likely wipe them out financially, according to the paper. A judge ordered that Bankman-Fried must remain in custody after denying a request for bail, calling him a flight risk.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (2nd L) is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas on December 13, 2022. Days before FTX's bankruptcy filing last month, co-CEO Ryan Salame told Bahamian authorities that founder Sam Bankman-Fried may have committed fraud by sending customer money from the crypto exchange to his other firm, Alameda Research. According to a filing on Wednesday tied to FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, Salame disclosed "possible mishandling of clients' assets" by Bankman-Fried. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Like Bankman-Fried, Salame was a significant political donor, donating $20 million to Republican causes.

☆ Disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried 'orchestrated yearslong fraud' on investors and customers, SEC and criminal charges say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency giant FTX, defrauded investors by funneling money into his private hedge fund and conspired to commit wire fraud against customers and lenders, federal authorities said Tuesday. The Manhattan panel indicted Bankman-Fried on eight counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers, wire fraud on customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders, wire fraud on lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the campaign finance laws. $8 billion loss to customersThe wire fraud on lenders and customers started in or about 2019 and lasted through November, according to the filing. Separately, in a filing Tuesday also in the Southern District of New York, the SEC charged him with defrauding investors and enriching Alameda. FTX CEO pledges continued cooperationAlso Tuesday, the company’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, testified at a congressional hearing on FTX’s collapse and missteps.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried oversaw one of the biggest financial frauds in American history, a top federal prosecutor said in charging that the former chief executive stole billions of dollars from the crypto exchange’s customers while misleading investors and lenders. An indictment by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, unsealed Tuesday, charges Mr. Bankman-Fried with eight counts of fraud. Prosecutors allege that he took FTX.com customers’ money to pay the expenses and debts of Alameda Research, an affiliated trading firm. Mr. Bankman-Fried is charged as well with conspiring to defraud the U.S. and violate campaign-finance rules by making illegal political contributions.

The filing also alleges that customers "believed his lies" and believed the platform was secure — and subsequently sent billions of dollars to FTX. But from the start, the SEC claims, Bankman-Fried improperly diverted customer assets to his privately held crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. The SEC said Bankman-Fried hid those actions from FTX's equity investors, including American investors, "from whom he sought to raise billions of dollars in additional funds." "He repeatedly cast FTX as an innovative and conservative trailblazer in the crypto markets," the complaint said. Neither the SEC nor Emmer were immediately available to provide further comment.

☆ Breakingviews: FTX sins don’t absolve its big-money enablers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone to know that Sam Bankman-Fried was a bad actor. The financial watchdog and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday alleged that the founder of bankrupt currency exchange FTX committed fraud, while federal prosecutors made a criminal case. The U.S. government, meanwhile, has accused Bankman-Fried of eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSU.S. federal prosecutors filed a criminal lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging he committed fraud and violated campaign finance laws. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also alleged Bankman-Fried committed fraud in complaints filed on Dec. 13.

☆ FTX sins don’t absolve its big-money enablers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone to know that Sam Bankman-Fried was a bad actor. The financial watchdog and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday alleged that the founder of bankrupt currency exchange FTX committed fraud, while federal prosecutors made a criminal case. The CFTC focused on customers, whose money it says FTX sent to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research, which allegedly used it for venture investments and loans to FTX executives. loadingCONTEXT NEWSU.S. federal prosecutors filed a criminal lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging he committed fraud and violated campaign finance laws. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also alleged Bankman-Fried committed fraud in complaints filed on Dec. 13.

☆ Everything you need to know about the FTX saga that unfolded today
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, Ray testified before the House Financial Services Committee, relaying what he could about the company he took over just four weeks ago. FTX, on the other hand, was “not sophisticated at all.”“This is really old-fashioned embezzlement,” Ray continued. They say he misappropriated FTX customers’ deposits by using those funds to pay expenses and debts of Alameda, his crypto hedge fund. (The SDNY are an aggressive people, but they are not sloppy, and they don’t indict without a solid case.) Several lawyers not involved in the case have told me that the speed of Bankman-Fried’s arrest signals that former FTX employees may be aiding prosecutors.

Federal authorities on Tuesday charged FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried with using what they said was tens of millions of dollars of misappropriated customer funds to make illegal political donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates. He then used those funds to make "large political donations," to make investments and buy "lavish real estate," the SEC complaint alleged. The campaign finance allegations come days after a private watchdog group asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate Bankman-Fried's political contributions. Most of Bankman-Fried's publicly disclosed campaign contributions, which totaled nearly $40 million in the 20222 election cycle, went toward Democrats, FEC records show. "The question is whether regulators, including the SEC, backed off from aggressive investigation of FTX because of this political influence," Painter said.

The exemption allowed Alameda to keep borrowing funds from FTX irrespective of the value of the collateral securing those loans. The other was a mechanism whereby FTX customers deposited over $8 billion in traditional currency into bank accounts secretly controlled by Alameda. Indeed, he told investors that Alameda received no preferential treatment from FTX, the SEC complaint said. This would allow Alameda to keep borrowing more FTX funds without the need to provide more collateral. Bankman-Fried's house of cards "began to crumble" in May 2022, the SEC complaint said.

☆ The SEC is bringing charges against Sam Bankman-Fried – here are the key takeaways from the filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The SEC has filed charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. It alleges that he was "orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud" by misusing customer funds. It alleges that the FTX founder violated the Securities Act by misusing customer funds for his own benefit, and hiding debts from investors. It alleges Bankman-Fried "used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses." Bankman-Fried misled investors by saying "assets are fine"On November 7 – just four days before FTX filed for bankruptcy – Bankman-Fried tweeted "FTX is fine.

☆ FTX owned $256 million of Bahamas real estate including 15 condos in the same building, and the government wants it back
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bahamian regulators are trying to claim $256 million of real estate owned by FTX. Court documents filed on Monday show that FTX owns 35 properties, including 15 multi-million dollar condos in the same building. The most expensive property in the documents is worth $30 million, suggesting that the Bahamas is trying to claim Bankman-Fried's apartment. At One Cable Beach — another luxury community where FTX owns four properties — apartment plans on the same floor show a nearly 3,000 sq-ft home with a wraparound balcony. The company was only used to hold Bahamas real estate, and "has no assets here, no creditors here, and it never has done business here."

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced new charges against Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research, alleging that FTX commingled customer funds and that the onetime crypto billionaire violated the Commodities Exchange Act. From the founding of FTX in 2019, the CFTC alleged, Alameda "accessed and used FTX customer funds for Alameda's own operations and activities, including to fund its trading, investment, and borrowing/lending activities." The CFTC filing echoed charges that the SEC unveiled earlier Tuesday, which said Bankman-Fried operated his empire as a fraud "from the start." FTX allowed Alameda access to massive amounts of liquidity, backstopping risky bets on crypto assets and derivatives, the CFTC alleged. "At Bankman-Fried's direction, FTX executives created features in the underlying code for FTX that allowed Alameda to maintain an essentially unlimited line of credit on FTX," the CFTC alleged.

☆ The head of the legal system in the Bahamas said the US will 'likely' ask for Sam Bankman-Fried's extradition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US is "likely" to request Sam Bankman-Fried be extradited to the US, the Bahamas attorney general said. The attorney general indicated the Bahamas intended to extradite Bankman-Fried if requested. The disgraced crypto founder was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday, according to US authorities. The Bahamas attorney general said in the statement that the US had filed criminal charges against Bankman-Fried and was "likely to request his extradition." Representatives for the Bahamas attorney general office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.

☆ Congress considers crypto consumer protection bill that Sam Bankman-Fried backed before FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The shocking collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has increased the urgency in Congress to understand what went wrong and pass legislation to try to prevent another debacle that would affect hundreds of thousands of investors. One bill, the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, introduced in August, gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority to regulate digital commodities like FTX. The bill arrived before FTX's collapse ignited fresh debate over how to protect consumers in the relatively young and untamed crypto industry. Bankman-Fried was charged in a U.S. indictment with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Nor does it make the CFTC the 'primary' crypto regulator," Stabenow said during an agriculture committee hearing Dec. 1.

Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York charged the disgraced crypto executive with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. "This is really just old fashioned embezzlement. Old school, old school." The Senate Banking Committee had also asked Bankman-Fried to testify at a Wednesday hearing that he previously refused to attend. Ryan Salame, the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, donated another $23 million, with the majority of his contributions heading toward Republicans.

☆ Harvard-educated deception expert: 4 red flags can show when people like Sam Bankman-Fried are lying
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The answer is the latter, says Pamela Meyer , a Harvard-educated deception expert who is a certified fraud examiner and the author of the 2010 book "Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception." Now, with Sam Bankman-Fried arrested on Monday by Bahamian authorities, the world is wondering if the FTX founder will follow in Holmes' footsteps as the next disgraced startup founder to end up behind bars . Such tactics should have been "a red flag, for sure, that he was deflecting a deep dive into the details" of FTX, Meyer says. You let them talk and talk and talk." This appears to be Bankman-Fried's current mode, Meyer says.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried hit with 8 criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy for allegedly 'misappropriating' FTX customer funds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A grand jury indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried was unsealed Tuesday. Prosecutors in New York accused him of mixing the coffers of FTX and Alameda Research. The 8 criminal charges against him include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the US and violate the campaign finance laws. In charges unsealed Tuesday morning, a grand jury indictment laid out the 8 accusations against Bankman-Fried, alleging he directed FTX customer funds to "pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research." The indictment alleged that FTX customer funds went toward paying off Alameda Research's debts or inappropriately put toward investments, and that Alameda's own lenders were given "false and misleading information."

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried criminal charges unsealed: Conspiracy to defraud the U.S., wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami Mackenzie Sigalos | Rohan Goswami | Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A federal indictment was unsealed Tuesday alleging widespread fraud by FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, a day after the fallen crypto exchange operator was arrested in the Bahamas in connection with the charges. The indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan charges Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations. Follow CNBC's live blog covering Tuesday's hearing on the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX before the House Financial Services Committee. It also accuses Bankman-Fried of conspiring with others to defraud FTX's lenders "by providing false and misleading information to those lenders regarding Alameda Research's financial condition." Prosecutors also allege he conspired with others to make illegal donations to political candidates, using the names of other persons to mask and augment political giving.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried denied bail in Bahamas on FTX fraud charges, judge cites flight risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A magistrate judge in the Bahamas on Tuesday denied bail to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, citing heightened flight risk, and said he should be remanded to Bahamian custody until February 8, 2023, hours after a U.S. federal criminal indictment against Bankman-Fried alleging a massive fraud at FTX was unsealed in New York City. Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday evening by Bahamas law enforcement acting on a request from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bankman-Fried was charged with several counts in federal court, including wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried lowered his head and hugged his parents, who are both Stanford Law professors. Bankman-Fried's parents were animated during the proceeding, at times laughing or putting their fingers in their ears, according to CoinDesk.

New York CNN —FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted on eight criminal charges including wire fraud and conspiracy by misusing customer funds, according to an indictment from the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York. Separately Tuesday, US markets regulators charged Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors and customers in his failed crypto exchange FTX. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bankman-Fried, “orchestrated a years-long fraud” to conceal from FTX investors the diversion of customer funds to Alameda Research, his crypto-trading hedge fund. Star athletes and celebrities who backed FTX also reportedly received a stake in the company, including Tom Brady and Gisele. That meant there was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s funds that Bankman-Fried used as his “personal piggy bank,” the complaint says.

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