Two congressional hearings on the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchange FTX will be held next week, and US lawmakers have asked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to testify. As the founder of FTX and Alameda Research, “you must answer for the failure of both institutions, which is due at least in part to the blatant misuse of client funds and the write-off of billions of dollars owed to more than a million creditors.” Sherrod Brown told Bankman-Fried.
2 Congressional Hearings on FTX Set for Next Week
The House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold separate hearings next week on the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) on the committee’s “Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers.” will take place on December 14. The letter reads:
As the founder and CEO of FTX Trading Ltd. at the time of its bankruptcy, and the founder, principal owner and former CEO of Alameda Research, you must be held accountable for the failure that both entities caused, at least in part. blatant misappropriation of client funds and billions of dollars in debt to more than a million creditors.
“There are still unanswered questions about how customer funds were misappropriated, how you prevented customers from withdrawing their money, and how you orchestrated the cover-up,” the senator said.
Brown explained, “Traditionally, witnesses called before the committee volunteer themselves.” He asked Bankman-Fried to respond to his staff by 5 p.m. Thursday to discuss his attendance at the meeting.
The deputy warned:
If you choose not to appear, I, along with Ranking Member Pat Toomey, are prepared to issue a subpoena to compel your testimony.
On November 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO. The company is now under investigation for mishandling customer funds. FTX’s new CEO John Ray told the bankruptcy court: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate control and complete absence of reliable financial information as occurred here.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, has invited Bankman-Fried to appear before her committee’s Dec. 13 hearing. He tweeted several times to the FTX co-founder, but did not issue a subpoena for him. to testify.
The congressman was heavily criticized for his polite approach to inviting Bankman-Fried. He even expressed on Twitter that he appreciated his honesty in his discussions about what happened with the FTX. Waters tweeted on Wednesday:
Lies being spread on @CNBC that I don’t want to call out @SBF_FTX. He was asked to testify at the meeting to be held on December 13. The subpoena is definitely on the table. Stay with us.
Bankman-Fried told Waters last week that she would testify on Dec. 13 “after learning and reviewing what happened,” which she did not expect to happen.
Do you think US lawmakers will be able to compel Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at a congressional hearing next week? Let us know in the comment section below.
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