In a recent revelation, it has come to light that Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis contacted Sam Bankman-Fried, a prominent figure in the crypto world, two months prior to the downfall of Bankman-Fried’s empire. Davis sought Bankman-Fried’s advice for his son, who was involved in an NFT project. This information surfaced through an email presented as evidence by prosecutors.
This email, dated September 2022, sheds light on the close relationship between the Bahamian Prime Minister and Bankman-Fried. Notably, the FTX exchange, of which Bankman-Fried is the CEO, was based in the Bahamas. The Bahamian government has faced criticism for its perceived leniency in regulating crypto companies. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas allowed FTX to operate without a license for over two years. In response to concerns, the island nation sought to tighten its regulations earlier in the year to ensure that digital-asset exchanges maintained safeguards commensurate with the scale and nature of their businesses, as stated by the SCB in April.
During a questioning session involving FBI agent Richard Busik, U.S. Attorney Danielle Kudla introduced the email from September 2022 to confirm the authenticity of the phone number used by Busik during his investigations, confirming it belonged to Sam Bankman-Fried.
The email, sent from a Gmail address, included contact information for Philip Davis, who was the Prime Minister of the Bahamas at the time and still holds the position. In the email, Davis requested that Bankman-Fried’s son reach out to the FTX CEO to discuss an NFT project the son was involved in. Bankman-Fried responded by providing his phone number and expressing his availability for a conversation via phone or Zoom.
As of the time of the report, there was no response from a spokesperson representing Prime Minister Davis.
