- Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, is denying rumors that he fled to Argentina.
- He told Reuters he is still in the Bahamas, where FTX is based.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, is denying he's on the lam in Argentina as rumors circulated on social media this weekend that the former CEO had fled.
Bankman-Fried — who stepped down as CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange on Friday after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — told Reuters via text message that he is currently in the Bahamas, where FTX is based.
When asked if he had taken a plane to Argentina, he responded "Nope."
Murmurings that Bankman-Fried left the country started on Saturday, after a series of viral tweets emerged on Twitter linking to flight trackers that claimed his private jet had landed in Argentina.
—Mr. Whale whalechart.org (@WhaleChart) November 12, 2022
The former CEO is in hot water after admitting he "fucked up twice" in an apology on Twitter, explaining his company's demise was tied to high customer withdrawals and his incorrect assessment of the exchange's total debt. The Financial Times reported Saturday that FTX held $9 billion in liabilities against just $900 million in sellable assets.
Bankman-Fried relocated the FTX headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in 2021. There, an inner circle of Bankman-Fried's 10 roommates, all of whom are either care urrently or were previously dating each other, are reportedly operating the company, according to CoinDesk.
"It's a place full of conflicts of interest, nepotism, and lack of oversight," sources told CoinDesk.