Sam Bankman-Fried arrested over collapse of £27bn cryptocurrency empire he ran with ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison

SAM Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas following the collapse of his £27 billion cryptocurrency empire.

The 30-year-old, who ran his business with his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, now faces extradition to the United States following the collapse of the FTX exchange.

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The arrest marks a stunning fall from grace for the entrepreneur widely known by his initials SBF.
He experienced a boom in bitcoin and other digital assets to become a multi-billionaire until the rapid demise of FTX.

Bankman-Fried’s unconventional style – which saw him sleeping on an ottoman in the office – and his commitment to progressive causes saw him rub shoulders with the likes of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

FTX has also been able to get endorsements from high-profile celebrities, including Tom Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, who have both invested in it, as well as comedian Larry David.

It recently emerged that “the entire operation was run by a gang of kids in the Bahamas” who are, or were, romantically linked, CoinDesk reports.

“They would do anything for each other,” said a person familiar with how the business works.

The term “polycule” was used to describe the unusual configuration.

“Sam Bankman-Fried ran into a polycule that may have destroyed the crypto market,” tweeted chief technology officer Ed Zitron.

The cabal lived in a £32million penthouse in the Caribbean tax haven and included Ellison, the 28-year-old CEO of FTX trading arm Alameda.