Sam Bankman-Fried is behind bars. The controversial founding father of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX was taken into custody within the Bahamas yesterday after legal expenses had been filed towards him by the United States Department of Justice. 

In a press convention at the moment, the US legal professional for the Southern District of New York stated that Bankman-Fried is going through a complete of eight legal expenses, together with defrauding FTX clients, FTX traders, and lenders to sister firm Alameda Research.

The arrest has sparked jubilation in crypto circles, after some nail-biting over his ostensibly beneficiant therapy by “mainstream media” and hypothesis (by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, no less) that his political donations could earn him a free move of types with US regulation enforcement.

However, the timing of the arrest—at some point earlier than Bankman-Fried was as a result of testify earlier than Congress in regards to the collapse of FTX—has raised eyebrows.

Against the recommendation of his legal professionals, Bankman-Fried has given a collection of interviews for the reason that collapse, however none have been significantly illuminating (aside from a Vox report that caught him off-guard). He has largely evaded easy questions, given tangential responses, and been typically inattentive—he played video games during at least one interview.

But as identified by US consultant Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, at the moment’s listening to would have marked the primary time Bankman-Fried had spoken beneath oath in regards to the FTX debacle. In a statement, Waters stated she was “surprised” to be taught of the arrest. “The public has been waiting eagerly to get these answers under oath before Congress,” she wrote, “and the timing of this arrest denies the public this opportunity.”

In addition to providing his own testimony, Bankman-Fried was also going to have to respond to testimony from John Ray III, the liquidation savant that stepped into his shoes as CEO of FTX on November 11, who was due to speak ahead of him.

A written preview of Ray’s testimony, published in advance of the hearing, gave the first indication that Bankman-Fried was in for a rough ride. “Never in my career have I seen such an utter failure of corporate controls at every level of an organization,” wrote Ray, before describing Bankman-Fried and his inner circle as “grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated.” 

Although the particulars stay unclear, Ray confirmed that FTX buyer deposits had been combined with funds held by sister firm Alameda Research and used to fund dangerous buying and selling exercise, exposing FTX customers to “massive losses.” He additionally defined that, opposite to Bankman-Fried’s repeated claims that FTX’s US division has at all times remained solvent, the offshoot “was not operated independently of FTX.com,” denting any remaining hopes that US-based clients will recuperate their funds in full. Bankman-Fried’s counsel didn’t reply to a request for remark.

A leaked version of Bankman-Fried’s own preparations, obtained by Forbes, suggests his own testimony would have added plenty to the spectacle too. According to the document, Bankman-Fried was preparing to point the finger at least in part at rival exchange Binance, which the document claims played a role in triggering the run on the bank that led to the FTX collapse. Not only did Binance engage in a sustained smear campaign, the document suggests, it also “never intended” to follow through on a rescue package agreed upon on November 8, which precluded Bankman-Fried from speaking to other potential white knights.