The FBI recently conducted a thorough search of the Maryland home of former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, Ryan Salame, for undisclosed reasons.
It is suspected that the search is related to Salame’s close working relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-collapsed FTX exchange who has been accused of fraudulent activities.
Salame had served as CEO of Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, which was the main headquarters of FTX exchange.
Salame is also involved in a case that concerns donations to candidates during the midterm elections in the previous year.
The former employees had contributed a total of $90 million to various candidates, out of which $24 million was transferred by Salame.
Authorities suspect that a large portion of the donated funds may have been borrowed from the company’s clients.
Earlier reports suggested that Salame had received significant payouts from FTX, with him ranking fourth among the highest-paid employees.
In total, the site’s management had distributed $3.2 billion, with Bankman-Fried receiving $2.2 billion, FTX CTO Nishad Singh receiving $587 million, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang receiving $246 million.