Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried indicated on Sunday that he will appear in front of the House Financial Services Committee, but signaled that he may not be prepared to do so before the committee’s selected date of December 13.
Capping off three days of heightened engagement with the media, SBF tweeted Sunday: ‘Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services: Once I have completed learning and evaluating what transpired, I would feel that it was my obligation to testify before the committee and explain.
‘I’m not convinced that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify,’ he continued.
The failed crypto exchange CEO was replying to a Friday afternoon tweet from Rep. Maxine Waters, the Democratic head of the House Financial Services Committee, who commended the 30-year-commitment old’s to connect with the public.
‘We appreciate that you’ve been forthright in your talks about what transpired,’ she said, alluding to the collapse of FTX, which was once valued at $32 billion.
‘You desire to communicate to the public will aid the company’s consumers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th,’ she continued.
House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters has called Sam Bankman-Fried to testify regarding FTX’s bankruptcy before the committee later this month
SBF, who has communicated with a number of media outlets in recent days, says he will testify, but is not convinced he will be able to do it successfully by December 13
In the recent week, apparently against the advice of his counsel, SBF has made a series of media appearances during which he has sought to explain the abrupt and terrible collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.
He has also sought to shift personal responsibility for the billions of dollars of client monies that may have been lost forever due to the implosion of his business.
Last Wednesday, addressing the DealBook Summit, he remarked, ‘Look, I’ve had a horrible month, but that’s not what counts here,’ adding that he is working toward retrieving consumer cash.
‘I didn’t ever want to conduct fraud on anyone. I was astounded by the events of this month,’ SBF stated.
When the former CEO of FTX was pressed on how and when investors will receive their funds, SBF responded that he felt the U.S. subsidiary of FTX was completely solvent and could begin processing withdrawals immediately.
Regarding the remainder of FTX, which was substantially larger than the U.S. business, he stated that he had little influence over the fate of clients’ assets.
Bankman-Fried is currently accused of diverting client monies from FTX to his second cryptocurrency trading business, Alameda Research.
As claims of fraud and misbehavior surface following FTX’s abrupt demise, the U.S. Department of Justice has demanded an independent inquiry of the company’s bankruptcy filing.
A Financial Times investigation stated that the company’s Bahamian headquarters provided daily meals, biweekly massages, on-site barbers, and $200 per person, per day DoorDash allowances.
A former employee stated, “It was kids guiding kids.” The entire procedure was both idiotically inefficient and hypnotic.
I had never seen that much money in my whole life. I don’t believe anyone, even SBF, had.’
SBF has also been discovered as one of the largest political donors of the most recent election cycle, having given at least $38 million to Democratic lawmakers over the past two years, and maybe much more.
Last week, DailyMail.com observed Bankman-Fried on the balcony of his $30 million Bahamas apartment. He stated that he no longer resides there but remains in the Bahamas.
SBF also talked to Good Morning America from his $30 million Bahamian penthouse during his perhaps ill-advised publicity blitz. He stated throughout the interview that he was not attempting to control risk at FTX.
I believe there is a more fundamental flaw, which is that I wasn’t even trying. As if I spent no time or energy attempting to manage risk on FTX,’ he told GMA.
Bankman-Fried stated that if he had spent one hour each day contemplating risk management, his firm would not have collapsed.
I believe I stopped working as diligently for a while. Honestly, if I look back on it, I believe I grew smug, and I mean more than cocky, and I think a part of me, you know, felt like we had made it.
The 30-year-old also appeared to attempt to evade questioning regarding his knowledge of the rerouting of FTX cash to settle debts for Alameda Research, a trading business formed by his ex-girlfriend, Carolyn Ellison.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are presently investigating Bankman-Fried for allegedly helping FTX transfer $10 million to Alameda.
The cryptocurrency CEO whose faltering FTX prompted market panic: a hoodie-wearing vegan previously worth “$25BILLION” who sleeps four hours each night.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried, a vegan who sleeps four hours a night, had become a prominent face of crypto currency with an estimated personal worth of nearly $25 billion, which Forbes magazine reports has subsequently decreased to $100,000.
The popularity of FTX enabled the platform to create renowned relationships, including those with American football icon Tom Brady and former supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and also featured comedian Larry David in a Super Bowl television commercial.
Bankman-Fried, who almost always wears a hoodie and a black T-shirt, has committed to contribute nearly his entire fortune to his favorite causes, such as animal welfare and the battle against global warming.
Before turning to cryptocurrencies in 2017, he worked as a Wall Street trader. He is the son of Stanford Law School professors and a graduate of the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
According to Bankman-Fried, the Bahamas is ‘one of the few nations with a full licensing framework for cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges.’ As a result, the firm was relocated to the Caribbean island, where taxes are nearly nonexistent.
He has been an outspoken champion for wider public access to the cryptocurrency market, notably in the United States.
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