US lawmakers query SEC chair on timing of Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest

by Jeremy

Two members of the US Home Monetary Companies Committee are calling on Securities and Change Fee chair Gary Gensler “relating to the timing of the costs filed towards FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried” based mostly on his scheduled look at a listening to.

In a Feb. 10 discover, committee chair Patrick McHenry and Consultant Invoice Huizenga, who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, stated the timing of Bankman-Fried’s fees and arrest within the Bahamas raised “severe questions in regards to the SEC’s course of and cooperation with the Division of Justice”. The 2 lawmakers known as on Gensler to supply data and communications from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, his workplace, and between the company and the Justice Division associated to SBF’s fees from Nov. 2 to Feb. 9.

Bankman-Fried had been scheduled to testify earlier than a Home Monetary Companies Committee listening to on Dec. 13 exploring the collapse of crypto change FTX. Nevertheless, the previous FTX CEO was arrested within the Bahamas in accordance with an extradition settlement with the US. The Justice Division charged Bankman-Fried with eight felony counts together with wire fraud, whereas the SEC and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee have filed separate civil fits towards the previous CEO.

“Since Gary Gensler will not abide by his personal polices [sic] to ‘are available in and speak’, the Home GOP will maintain him accountable,” stated Huizenga in a Feb. 10 tweet.

McHenry and Huizenga requested Gensler present the data no later than Feb. 23. The SEC chair confronted extra scrutiny this week following the company saying a settlement with Kraken during which the change agreed to cease providing staking companies or applications to U.S. purchasers.

Associated: US lawmakers ask DOJ maintain FTX execs accountable ‘to the fullest extent of the regulation’

With Bankman-Fried’s absence, FTX CEO John Ray was the only witness on the December committee listening to, however the Senate Banking Committee additionally probed FTX’s “bubble burst” in its personal listening to on Dec. 14. The banking committee has scheduled an extra listening to on the “crypto crash” of 2022 to happen on Feb. 14.