Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been denied bail by a judge in the Bahamas.

US authorities charged Bankman-Fried with one of the biggest financial frauds in US history on Tuesday.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said the ex-FTX boss built a house of cards on a foundation of deception.

Bankman-Fried has indicated that he will fight extradition to the US.

Bahamas Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt denied the petition for his release on bail, citing a “great” risk of flight, and ordered that he be kept on remand at a correctional facility until 8 February.

He was arrested in the Bahamas yesterday.

Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds.

According to a court filing, FTX owed its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1bn (£2.5bn).

Among the most serious allegations against Bankman-Fried is that he used billions of dollars of customer funds to prop up his investment trading company, Alameda.

It is unclear how much people who have funds in the exchange will get back at the end of bankruptcy proceedings – though many experts have warned it may be a small fraction of what they deposited.

Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal charges in the US, including wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

He also faces civil charges including misleading investors who put more than $1bn into the company.

Officials have also accused him of violating campaign finance laws.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, described the fraud Mr Bankman-Fried is accused of as among the largest in US history. (Source BBC)

https://news.yahoo.com/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-020450110.html