Unless prosecutors believed Bankman-Fried was planning to flee, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek they 'jumped the gun' on his arrest.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's sudden arrest on Monday night halted a scheduled testimony that legal experts say could have been damning for the crypto industry and its former golden boy.
Although Tuesday's congressional hearing went on as planned, the absence of the disgraced founder, who was also a major donor to the, was criticized by Republican lawmakers who hinted that federal authorities purposely blocked his testimony. Even progressive congresswoman Maxine Waters, who chairs the committee,, saying,"the timing of this arrest denies the public" the opportunity to hear directly from Bankman-Fried while he was under oath.
Rahmani said because the U.S. Attorney's Office had control over the timing of the arrest, the"only good reason" to make the decision before Bankman-Fried's congressional testimony is if there was concern that the 30-year-old would flee the country."Otherwise, prosecutors jumped the gun," he said.that sometimes arrests are initiated over concerns that a suspect is planning to escape to a non-extradition country or there is risk evidence will be destroyed.
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