The FBI raided the home of former FTX chief executive and CEO of the company’s Bahamian branch, Ryan Salame. This is reported by The New York Times, citing sources.
According to them, we are talking about a residence in the Potomac (Maryland, USA). What served as the official reason for the investigative measures is not specified. However, the interlocutors of the publication noted that Salameh was “under scrutiny” of law enforcement officers because of the donation of $ 24 million in support of the Republicans.
The former head of the Bahamian branch was part of the inner circle of Sam Bankman-Freed (SBF). In particular, this is indicated by recently published documents – according to them, Salame received $ 87 million in the form of payments and loans from the crypto exchange and Alameda Research.
According to court records, he was the first to cooperate with the authorities during the collapse of FTX. In December, it was reported that Salame had warned the Bahamian Securities and Exchange Commission of potential fraud two days before filing for bankruptcy.
At the end of 2022, the US Department of Justice indicted SBF on eight felony charges. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the States, where he was released on $250 million bail.
Prosecutors increased the number of charges against SBF to 12 in February 2023 and to 13 the following month. He pleaded not guilty to any of the counts, including bribing a Chinese official.
Earlier, the former head of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang repented of their deeds and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Later, Nishad Singh, CTO of the collapsed stock exchange, followed suit.
In April, a court approved strict controls on the phones of SBF and his parents while under house arrest.
Source: bitcoinlinux.com
