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The former boss of one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges has been criticised after he was charged with defrauding investors out of $1.8bn (£1.5bn).

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

John Ray, who was named Chief Executive of FTX after Bankman-Fried stepped down and the company filed for bankruptcy on 11 November, criticised the founder’s leadership and explained what led to the collapse of FTX.

Giving evidence in a congressional hearing in Washington, Mr Ray said there was “virtually no distinction” between the operations of FTX and Alameda Research – Bankman-Fried’s first business.

According to the SEC complaint, Bankman-Fried diverted customer funds to Alameda, without telling it.

Mr Ray said the FTX group’s collapse appears to stem from “absolute concentration of control in the hands of a small group of grossly inexperienced, non-sophisticated individuals.”

He added that there was “literally no record-keeping whatsoever” and said employees would communicate invoicing and expenses on Slack.

Congressman Brad Sherman also raised concerns about crypto and said: “My fear is that we’ll view Sam Bankman-Fried as just one big snake in a crypto garden of Eden. The fact is crypto is a garden of snakes. From the outside crypto looks like a non-fungible token…But in reality, the hope of crypto is to be a currency to compete with the US dollar.”

The value of FTX's FTT token has collapsed over the past month. Pic: CoinMarketCap
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The value of FTX’s FTT token has collapsed over the past month. Pic: CoinMarketCap

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas after authorities there received formal notice that separate criminal charges had been filed against him in the US.

The 30-year-old, whose net worth peaked at $26bn (£21bn), ran the firm from the island until he stepped down as chief executive last month.

The funds amassed at Alameda were allegedly used to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish property purchases, and large political donations.

Founder built a ‘house of cards on a foundation of deception’

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC chair Gary Gensler.

He has been charged with eight counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Bankman-Fried is also charged with counts tied to wire and securities fraud, as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws.

John Ray at a US House Financial Services Committee hearing
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John Ray at a US House Financial Services Committee hearing

How did we get here?

Regarding the separate charges which led to his arrest in the Bahamas, those are expected to be revealed later.

Bankman-Fried has the right to contest his extradition to face them.

The charges came a day before he was due to testify before America’s House Financial Services Committee.

Read more:
Sam Bankman-Fried: What happened at FTX?
How FTX founder went from star-studded £21bn empire to being charged

Bankman-Fried has been the focus of investigations by both US and Bahamian authorities since the collapse of FTX, which ran out of money in the crypto equivalent of a bank run.

FILE - The FTX Arena logo is seen where the Miami Heat basketball team plays Nov. 12, 2022, in Miami. The former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX said Wednesday, Nov. 30, that he did not ...knowingly" misuse customers' funds, and claimed he believes his millions of angry customers will eventually be made whole. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

It had been the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, but was left teetering on the brink of insolvency in early November when larger rival exchange Binance dramatically withdrew from a non-binding bailout offer.

Binance also indicated it would sell the $529m (£430m) of FTT, the native token of FTX, on its books.

It led other investors to rush to withdraw funds, but FTX could not meet all the requests, as it apparently used its customers’ deposits to cover bad bets at Alameda.

During a string of recent media appearances, Bankman-Fried has insisted he did not “knowingly” misuse customers’ funds and has denied defrauding investors.

However, he has admitted that “clearly I didn’t do a good job” at running FTX.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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