Damian Williams, who filed the indictment on behalf of the US government is a household name in New York for his involvement in some high-profile cases.

Who is Damian Williams?

Damian Williams was appointed as the US Attorney for the District of New York in 2021 and made a name for himself for his crackdown against white-collar crimes. Most recently, Damian Williams attracted a huge amount of media attention for the investigation against cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The prosecutor earned praise for managing to get the FTX founder convicted on all seven counts he faced.

“As United States Attorney, Mr. Williams supervises the investigation and prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in which the United States has an interest. He leads a staff of approximately 450 lawyers, special agents, paralegals, and other support professionals. Mr. Williams also serves as Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), a select group of United States Attorneys who advise the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management,” the website of the Department of Justice said about Damian Williams.

Damian Williams graduated from Harvard University and Yale Law School. His Bachelor’s degree in economics is from Harvard, and he furthered his education at the University of Cambridge, earning a master’s degree in international relations. Apart from Sam Bankman-Fried, Damian Williams is known for his legal actions against former high-ranking figures within the volatile cryptocurrency sector. This includes filing charges against Alex Mashinsky, the founder of the now-insolvent cryptocurrency lending platform, Celsius Network.

India walks a tightrope

The government of India is currently walking on a tightrope as the allegations have the potential to disrupt the good relations between India and the United States. India has formed a high-level committee to probe “all the relevant aspects of the matter” and has been cooperative with the US authorities on the allegations.

“During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to the nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists, and others. The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action. On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments,” India said in its response.

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Updated: 01 Dec 2023, 04:22 PM IST