Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has agreed to honor the invitation of House Committee on Financial Services amid heavy criticism and allegation that he is guilty of fraud.
On Thursday, Bankman-Fried tweeted in response to the invitation of Rep. Maxine Waters that he’d be attending the Dec. 13th hearing, although he said he still doesn’t have “access to much of my data — professional or personal.” He added that “there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like.”
1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won't be as helpful as I'd like.
But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th. https://t.co/KR34BsNaG1
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 9, 2022
“I will try to be helpful during the hearing, and to shed what light I can on: — FTX US’s solvency and American customers –Pathways that could return value to users internationally — What I think led to the crash — My own failings,” he said.
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Bankman-Fried has maintained innocence even as prominent business leaders join voices in alleging that the once bright-shining chief executive committed fraud leading to the fall of FTX.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November after Bankman-Fried failed to secure a bailout fund from rival exchange Binance – leading to his resignation. However, the company’s implosion has opened a Pandora’s box of issues centered on “what happened to $10 billion investors’ fund?” question.
While Bankman-Fried admitted that ignorance and oversight on his part formed a huge part of FTX’s ordeal, he has denied committing any form of fraud. He said on Friday that one of his “biggest failings” is thinking of himself “as a model CEO, who wouldn’t become lazy or disconnected. Which made it that much more destructive when I did.”
“I’m sorry. Hopefully people can learn from the difference between who I was and who I could have been,” he added.
The former executive has exonerated himself from any wrongdoing in all his interactions with the media since the collapse of FTX. He had earlier told Rep. Waters that he was not sure if he would testify on Dec. 13 because he has not finished “learning and reviewing what happened.” But his critics see it all as typical excuses that people use to evade responsibility in a matter like this.
Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and “Shark Tank” investor Mark Cuban have suggested that Bankman-Fried be given a jail term.
“Let’s just give him an adult timeout in the big house & move on,” Musk said on Twitter, a hint he thinks Bankman-Fried should go to prison.
Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team told TMZ: “I don’t know all the details. But if I were him, I’d be afraid of going to jail for a long time.”
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance CEO, who moved to provide FTX with a bailout fund but backed out hours later saying the exchange’s predicament, was much deeper than Bankman-Fried had told him, called Bankman-Fried a “fraudster.”
“SBF perpetuated a narrative painting me and other people as the ‘bad guys’. It was critical in maintaining the fantasy that he was a ‘hero’,” said Zhao.
“SBF is one of the greatest fraudsters in history, he is also a master manipulator when it comes to media and key opinion leaders,” he tweeted.
Federal prosecutors have reportedly opened investigation into FTX’s implosion. Bankman-Fried is being probed over allegations he manipulated the crypto market and mishandled customer funds. He’s also been accused of orchestrating trades to undermine digital token Tether that risked a crypto crash.