© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The brand of FTX is seen on the entrance of the FTX Enviornment in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photograph/File Photograph
By Mehnaz Yasmin and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried is about to testify earlier than a U.S. Home committee on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency change’s founder and the congressional panel mentioned on Friday, as regulators examine his position within the wake of its collapse.
The chair of the Home of Representatives Committee on Monetary Providers, Maxine Waters (NYSE:), instructed Reuters on Thursday that she was ready to subpoena Bankman-Fried if he didn’t agree to look earlier than the panel, which is holding a listening to as a part of its probe into FTX.
In a press release late on Friday, the panel mentioned it could hear from newly appointed FTX CEO John Ray and from Bankman-Fried, FTX’s founder and former CEO, on Tuesday.
“I nonetheless should not have entry to a lot of my knowledge — skilled or private. So there’s a restrict to what I will say, and I will not be as useful as I would like,” Bankman-Fried mentioned on Friday on Twitter.
“However because the committee nonetheless thinks it could be helpful, I’m keen to testify on the thirteenth,” he added.
The hybrid listening to is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) on Tuesday, the committee mentioned.
In latest weeks, U.S. authorities have sought info from buyers and potential buyers in FTX, two sources with information of the requests instructed Reuters. Prosecutors and regulators haven’t charged Bankman-Fried with any crime.
U.S. Justice Division officers met this week with FTX’s court-appointed overseers to look at whether or not a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} have been improperly transferred to the Bahamas, the place FTX relies, across the identical time that the crypto change filed for chapter in Delaware, Bloomberg reported late on Friday.
Each FTX and the Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for touch upon the report.
BATTLING CRYPTO PIONEERS
FTX filed for chapter final month and Bankman-Fried stepped down as chief govt, after merchants pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days and rival change Binance deserted a rescue deal.
Reuters detailed final month the bitter rivalry between Bankman-Fried and Binance Chief Government Changpeng Zhao, who within the months earlier than FTX’s downfall had competed for market share.
Public stress between the 2 erupted once more on Friday after a string of tweets by Zhao.
Zhao mentioned that after Binance, an early investor in FTX, sought to exit its stake over one-and-a-half years in the past, Bankman-Fried made “offensive tirades” towards Binance workforce members.
Binance offered again to FTX its stake within the firm final yr.
In reply, Bankman-Fried wrote: “We initiated conversations round shopping for you out, and we determined to do it as a result of it was vital for our enterprise.”
“You threatened to stroll on the final minute if we did not kick in an additional ~$75m,” he added. “You did not even have the rights to drag out as an investor except we selected to purchase you out–much of the tokens/fairness have been nonetheless locked.”
“Not that it issues now. You can also’t pressure us to promote if we do not need to,” Zhao replied.
“It was by no means a contest or combat. Nobody received.”
