FBI Searches Home of Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame

The FBI searched the Potomac, Maryland home of former FTX executive Ryan Salame at around 7 am on Thursday, the New York Times reported. 

Information on what the FBI was attempting to uncover at Salame’s $4 million home is not currently available.

Blockworks reached out to Salame’s lawyer, Jason Linder, but did not receive an immediate response.

Salame was co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, which principally operated in the Bahamas before the crypto exchange went bankrupt in November 2022. He also worked at Alameda Research and became a member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle along with Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison. 

The Times also reported that Salame’s $24 million in political contributions in the 2022 midterm elections are being scrutinized by federal authorities. And unlike SBF’s $40 million in donations to mostly Democrats, Salame was a major contributor to Republican politicians and causes. The majority of the $90 million FTX employees donated to politicians were inappropriately taken from customer funds, the Times reported. 

This most recent escalation by the FBI seemingly demonstrates that authorities are not done investigating the still-unraveling FTX and the individuals who led the exchange to its demise.

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