Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of the failed cryptocurrency firm FTX, is rumored to be a United States fugitive. According to some anonymous sources to infobae, Sam escaped to Argentina after filing for bankruptcy yesterday. Meanwhile, the government of Argentina claimed he had not been spotted around recently.
Sam Bankman-Fried on the run
Following the crash of FTX, one of the top exchanges worldwide, its founder was reportedly seen fleeing the US to Argentina, his motherland. However, Argentinian officials debunked the rumor saying Sam never turned up in the country. The officials added that he has a restraining order from the US; hence, if seen will be apprehended instantly.
The speculation started after FlightRadar, an airspace tracker, tweeted on Saturday at 5:33 a.m. about sighting Sam at the airport. It further stated that the CEO of FTX was on his way to Argentina. Simultaneously, FlightRadar revealed a map showing the location of the supposed aircraft he was on to support its claim.
As per the location, the flight took off in Nassau in the Bahamas and headed to Argentina. The tracker identified the airplane’s license plate as LV-KEB. Consequently, more information on the aircraft revealed that the owner of the aircraft had aired the same flight the previous day.
But its destination was San Fernando airport. Sources named Emes Group, an associate of Pampa Energia, as the owner of the aircraft Sam traveled in. However, there was no unequivocal explanation for why they believed Sam was on the flight.
FTX created an over $9 billion liquidity deficit
A report that FTX used users’ funds to finance one of its offshoot firms, Alameda, triggered the bourse’s collapse. Experts confirmed the news after scrutinizing the company’s balance sheet. The record book showed that FTX withdrew its customers’ money to capitalize Alameda.
Seeing the issue going haywire, Sam tried to bail FTX out by offering it to Binance. But, unfortunately, the latter backed out in the middle of the deal. Hence, that prompted Sam to file for bankruptcy at the US court.
The FTX meltdown hit thousands of FTX users with more than $9 billion of their funds got swept away. As the event ensued, the crypto market got tossed into a frenzy, with assets down by 75% in two days. The FTX situation proves that investors must be careful when investing in cryptocurrencies.
Ifeanyi Egede
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