A federal judge in New York on Friday ordered the arrest of former head of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried for attempting to tamper with a witness, AFP reported.

Sam Bankman-FriedPhoto: Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press/Profimedia Images

“The defendant committed a federal crime in attempting to tamper with a witness,” Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York ruled after the hearing.

“There is no condition or combination of conditions of release that would ensure that the defendant does not pose a danger to others or to the safety of the public,” he said. “Therefore, the resolution on the defendant’s release (…) is revoked,” he added.

He also ordered that Sam Bankman-Fried be “taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals,” the federal security agency responsible for the detainees.

He was placed under house arrest at his parents’ home in California after posting $250 million bail while awaiting trial on Oct. 2 in New York.

Accused of fraud and criminal conspiracy, “SBF” – as he is known – was extradited in late December 2022 from the Bahamas, where FTX was based.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him in those months: eight in January and five in March.

Illegal customer financing

Bankman-Fried and other executives are accused of using FTX customer accounts without their knowledge to finance the speculative operations of Alameda, his investment company.

A significant part of the allegedly embezzled funds was not returned by the new team responsible for liquidating the company.

The prosecutor’s office was behind the appeal to cancel parole, which was considered on Friday.

According to the prosecutor, the 31-year-old man sent documents to the American newspaper New York Times, trying to influence the testimony of Caroline Allison, his ex-girlfriend and former director of Alameda.

She was charged in the case and agreed to cooperate with US authorities.

US authorities also allege that Sam Bankman-Fried paid at least $40 million in bribes to Chinese officials to gain access to frozen assets.

According to a document filed in March, he ordered the transfer of those funds by 2021 so that Chinese authorities would seize more than $1 billion in cryptocurrencies held in accounts in Alameda’s name.

Then in November, FTX went bankrupt due to a crisis of confidence and massive withdrawal demands.

At one time, Sam Bankman-Fried had a personal fortune of 26 billion dollars.