Major foreign media, including Reuters and CNN, reported on the 28th (local time), citing U.S. prosecutors’ indictment, that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, which went bankrupt in November last year, paid more than $40 million (about 52 billion won) to a Chinese official.Sam Bankman-Freed FTX Founder.
The CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange used cryptocurrency for criminal purposes. As such facts became known, it is pointed out that regulators are urgently needed to strengthen cryptocurrency regulations. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a formal complaint against Binance the previous day on the grounds that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is selling cryptocurrency derivatives without authorities’ permission.The prosecution reportedly found out that the FTX was bribed during its investigation. It is explained that China ordered the provision of bribes after several months of attempts to restore frozen accounts failed.Taken together, Bankman-Fried offered at least $40 million in bribes to officials in China to unlock accounts at FTX’s affiliate Alameda Research after they were frozen by Chinese authorities. It is known that the entire bribe was delivered in cryptocurrency.Earlier in November 2021, Chinese authorities froze the accounts in question, where more than $1 billion of digital assets were held. The freeze was lifted in exchange for bribes.Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of FTX, which was one of the world’s leading exchanges until it went bankrupt in November last year. He diverted FTX customers’ deposits to invest elsewhere, as well as delivering political funds to U.S. politicians, while enabling the luxury of Bahamas-based employees.The 31-year-old faces a total of 13 charges and is expected to face more than 155 years in prison. His trial is scheduled for Oct.
He is under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California on bail. It has been revealed that Kwon Do-hyung (32), CEO of Terraform Labs, who was recently caught in Montenegro, established a corporation overseas despite his 11-month escape.There is a possibility that his dubious move was not put on hold even after he was investigated from a virtual currency “genius” to a “fraud” as he plunged numerous investors into a quagmire due to the “Tera·Luna crash.”He was taken into custody while on the run for the use of a forged passport.Serbia is known as a “virtual currency paradise” where related investments are active because virtual currency trading and mining are legalized. Critics point out that the possibility cannot be ruled out that CEO Kwon and others tried to launder or siphon criminal proceeds through a local corporation.
DL News reported that an official from a local law firm (Gecic), who represented the application for corporate registration, avoided an immediate answer when asked if he knew about the red notice of Kwon’s party at the time.Representative Kwon and Han were arrested on the 23rd while trying to board a flight to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with fake passports from Costa Rica at Podgorica International Airport, the capital of Montenegro.Currently, Kwon is on the investigation list of countries such as South Korea, the United States, and Singapore, but the prospect of repatriation is currently unclear as Montenegro authorities extended the detention period for up to 30 days on the 24th.
Sophia Kim
US ASIA JOURNAL
