Bahamas Attorney General Says FTX Remains Focused on ‘Proactive’ Investigation
The fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX remains the subject of an “active and ongoing investigation” by Bahamian authorities, Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder said on Sunday, as he praised the Bahamas’ regulatory regime and the speed with which it responded to the crisis.
FTX, which used to be among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is headquartered in the Bahamas. The company, whose cash crunch forced the company to declare bankruptcy on November 11, is the subject of an investigation by Bahamian and US authorities. In mid-November, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said government investigators in the Bahamas were looking into whether any “criminal misconduct occurred.”
“We are in the early stages of an ongoing and ongoing investigation,” Pinder said Sunday, according to a prepared statement. “It’s a very complicated investigation.” He said this affects public authorities and criminals.
Pinder said the Bahamas Securities Commission, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the police’s Financial Crimes Unit “will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the FTX insolvency, and any possible violations of Bahamian law.”
Pinder also defended the Bahamas’ regulatory regime and said the Securities Commission moved quickly “due to the strength of the legislative framework.”
Bahamas securities regulators revoked FTX Digital’s license and began bankruptcy proceedings a day before the start of US bankruptcy proceedings.
“Any attempt to lay this whole dispute at the feet of the Bahamas, because FTX is headquartered here, would be an overstatement,” Pinder said, adding that the Bahamas Securities Commission had moved “remarkably” quickly in responding. . .
Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, founded FTX in 2019 and rode the cryptocurrency boom to a fortune that Forbes last year valued at $26.5 billion (roughly Rs. 2,16,560 crore). Bankman-Fried stepped down as FTX’s CEO the same day the company filed for bankruptcy.
The shortfall came after Bankman-Fried secretly moved $10 billion (about Rs. 81,700 crore) of FTX clients’ funds to his trading firm, Alameda Research, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. .
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, led by veteran securities prosecutor Damian Williams, in mid-November began investigating how FTX handled client money, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also opened an investigation.
FTX’s demise comes after a meltdown that brought down other key players including Voyager Digital and Celsius Network and led global investors to question the viability of the cryptocurrency sector.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
