Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by authorities in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government, just a day before the disgraced former FTX CEO was due to testify before Congress.

Bankman-Fried was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force following a formal notification from the United States government that it has filed criminal charges against him, according to a Dec. 12 statement from the Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Ryan Pinder.

Citing a person with knowledge of the matter, The New York Times reported on Dec. 12 that the charges against Bankman-Fried include wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud and money laundering, 

The U.S. will likely request the extradition of Bankman-Fried, with Pinder stating that the Bahamas will “promptly” process any extradition request.

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement that both countries have “a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.

A Dec. 12 tweet from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said authorities in the Bahamas arrested Bankman-Fried based on a sealed indictment it filed that it plans to unseal “in the morning.”

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US…