The Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas announced the arrest yesterday. The arrest comes ahead of criminal charges awaiting him in the US over the collapse of FTX which has seen customers lose upwards of $8 billion (£6.5bn).

Bahamian Police took SBF into custody in response to a “formal notification” of filed criminal charges against him by US federal authorities, who said they were “likely to request his extradition”, according to Bahamian attorney-general Senator Ryan Pinder KC.

In his statement Senator Pinder added: “At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.”

Bahamian Prime Minister Davis said: “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.

“While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.”