Ex-FTX exec Ryan Salame's home said to be searched by FBI

The FBI has searched the $4M home of Ryan Salame, former head of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX's ( FTT-USD ) Bahamian subsidiary, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The search came as the former top FTX executive faces scrutiny for his role in the once-mighty crypto empire run by onetime billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been accused of defrauding customers and investors and is set to go on trial in October. Salame was said to have contributed some $24M to political candidates during midterm elections in 2022. That's worth noting as federal authorities have alleged that the bulk of the $90M in political contributions by a number of ex-FTX employees, including Salame, had been misappropriated from FTX's users. It's unclear what the FBI was looking for during the search, which took hold around 7 a.m. ET, the NYT said , adding Salame's lawyer, Jason Linder, did not respond to a request for comment, and an FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. Meanwhile, three of Bankman-Fried's former top executives have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate against SBF, who has pleaded not guilty. More on FTX MIAX agrees to acquire FTX Trading's LedgerX unit FTT Token rockets 100% as crypto exchange FTX considers relaunch FTX's European arm sets up website to unlock users' funds