Sam Bankman-Fried, from the Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee are playing hide and seek.
Both committees will hold hearings to investigate the FTX collapse. They have requested Bankman-Fried to appear in front of them.
Cat And Mouse
Maxine Waters, Chair of the United States Financial Services Committee, has requested that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX appear before the Financial Services Committee hearing. This hearing is scheduled for the 13th December. The former CEO of FTX is being asked to testify at two separate congressional hearings. Waters requested Bankman-Fried’s appearance before the inquiry committee through a tweet on the 3rd December.
Sam Bankman-Fried declined Waters’s invitation and stated that he would only appear before Waters after he had fully understood, reviewed, and analyzed the events leading to the FTX crash. He said that he wasn’t certain that this process would be complete before next week’s hearing.
“Rep. Waters and the House Committee on Financial Services. Once I have reviewed what happened, I would feel that it was my duty before the committee to explain. I don’t know if that will happen before the 13th. But I will be there to testify when it happens.”
Despite SBF appearing in multiple interviews, discussions on various media channels, this was despite the fact that SBF was present.
Financial Services Committee Chair Pushes Back
Waters reacted to Bankman-Fried’s excuses, citing his media reports. He stated that he had to appear at the hearing and that the committee was open to scheduling more hearings if he had additional information.
The Subpoena Option
Waters denied that she would not subpoena Bankman Fisher at the December 13th hearing, as she wanted him to testify freely. These reports were falsely claimed by Waters, the Chair of the Financial Services Committee. She confirmed that Bankman-Fried could be subpoenaed to force him to testify before her committee.
“Lies are circulated @CNBC that I refuse to subpoena @SBF_FTX. He has been asked to testify at the hearing on 13 December. It is certain that a subpoena will be issued. Keep watching.”
Bankman-Fried will be required to testify at the hearing if a subpoena has been issued. He could be held in contempt for Congress, a criminal offense punishable by a 12 month sentence in prison and a $100,000 fine. The hearing on the 13th of December, titled “Investigating FTX’s Collapse”, is one of a series of similar hearings to investigate the collapse of the FTX. It will feature individuals and companies involved in FTX, Alameda Research and Binance.
A Second Subpoena
The Senate Banking Committee wants Sam Bankman-Fried, in addition to the Financial Services Committee to appear before it to discuss FTX’s collapse. If he doesn’t appear before it, the committee will issue a subpoena to SBF. Senators Sherrod brown (D-Ohio), and Pat Toomey, (R-Pa), had written a public letter addressing Bankman-Fried. The exchange had resigned after it filed for bankruptcy. Just one day after the hearing by the House Financial Services Committee, the committee will hold a hearing on December 14th.
Senator Brown and Senator Toomey made a prepared statement.
“FTX’s failure has caused financial damage to consumers and its effects have spread to other parts of crypto industry. American citizens need to know more about Sam Bankman Fried’s misconduct at FTX. The Committee has asked that he testify at the upcoming hearing about FTX’s collapse. If he doesn’t, we will consider further action. Both entities failed due to the clear misuse of client funds. The Committee will consider further action if he does not comply.
Crypto Community Calls for SBF
Many people in the community called out, stating his actions were inconsistent with his recent conduct. He has been tweeting furiously and conducting multiple interviews about the FTX disaster. Jake Chervinsky, Head of Policy at Blockchain Association, suggested that Bankman Fried was reluctant to attend the hearings as “lying to Congress under Oath is less appealing.”
“Translation: He doesn’t mind lying about Andrew Ross Sorkin and George Stephanopoulos but lying to Congress under duress is less appealing.”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong echoed similar sentiments, stating,
“I don’t care how messy or rich your accounting is – you’re going to notice if there’s an extra $8B to spend. Sam’s claim that this was an error in accounting should be disbelieved by anyone.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. This article is not intended to be used for legal, tax, investment or financial advice.
