Senators
Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Grassley demand a full accounting of the
interactions between Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin
Behnam and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the now-defunct
cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Commentators wonder if this will allow the public to discover what might have happened between the regulator and SBF just before the exchange’s collapse.
In a letter
sent to Behnam on Monday, the senators expressed concern about the nature of
the CFTC chair’s relationship with Bankman-Fried in the months leading up to
FTX’s implosion in November 2022. The lawmakers are seeking records of all
meetings, phone calls, and correspondence between the two by 29 April.
“Safeguarding
the savings and retirements of Americans requires Congress and market
regulators like the CFTC to determine how this multi-billion-dollar crime was
allowed to happen,” Warren and Grassley wrote in
the letter.
Behnam
previously testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that he and his
team met with Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives roughly 10 times in the 14
months before the exchange’s bankruptcy. He also disclosed exchanging “a
number of messages” with the crypto CEO.
Are we about to get hidden info on what happened between the government and #FTX before the collapse?
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Grassley wrote a letter to the chairman of the CFTC, Rostin Behnam, regarding his interactions with #SBF before the FTX collapse
They… pic.twitter.com/k9hsXW4N7d
— The O Show (Wendyo.eth) (@The_O_Show_) April 16, 2024
The
senators’ request comes on the heels of Bankman-Fried’s sentencing last month
to 25 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud that led to the loss of
billions in customer funds. Last week, he appealed his conviction.
Despite the
severity of the punishment, Warren and Grassley emphasized that victims
“will never be made whole financially.”
“Mr.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for stealing $8
billion dollars from users of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. This punishment,
while appropriate, provided cold comfort for his victims,” the senators added.
Warren Is Active in the
Crypto Field
The letter
marks the latest in a series of inquiries spearheaded by Senator Warren in the
wake of FTX’s collapse. In November 2022, she and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-urged the Department of Justice to hold Bankman-Fried and complicit
executives personally accountable for wrongdoing.
Warren also
sent letters to Silvergate Bank and to Bankman-Fried himself, seeking answers
about their roles in the misappropriation of customer funds.
Senator
Warren’s position on cryptocurrencies has been well-known and consistent for
years. In 2021, she described digital assets as “highly opaque and
volatile,” and in 2023, she made headlines with her proposal for the
Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Finance
Magnates contacted
the CFTC press office for comment on the matter, but the Commission did not respond at the time of publication.
Senators
Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Grassley demand a full accounting of the
interactions between Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin
Behnam and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the convicted founder of the now-defunct
cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Commentators wonder if this will allow the public to discover what might have happened between the regulator and SBF just before the exchange’s collapse.
In a letter
sent to Behnam on Monday, the senators expressed concern about the nature of
the CFTC chair’s relationship with Bankman-Fried in the months leading up to
FTX’s implosion in November 2022. The lawmakers are seeking records of all
meetings, phone calls, and correspondence between the two by 29 April.
“Safeguarding
the savings and retirements of Americans requires Congress and market
regulators like the CFTC to determine how this multi-billion-dollar crime was
allowed to happen,” Warren and Grassley wrote in
the letter.
Behnam
previously testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that he and his
team met with Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives roughly 10 times in the 14
months before the exchange’s bankruptcy. He also disclosed exchanging “a
number of messages” with the crypto CEO.
Are we about to get hidden info on what happened between the government and #FTX before the collapse?
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Grassley wrote a letter to the chairman of the CFTC, Rostin Behnam, regarding his interactions with #SBF before the FTX collapse
They… pic.twitter.com/k9hsXW4N7d
— The O Show (Wendyo.eth) (@The_O_Show_) April 16, 2024
The
senators’ request comes on the heels of Bankman-Fried’s sentencing last month
to 25 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud that led to the loss of
billions in customer funds. Last week, he appealed his conviction.
Despite the
severity of the punishment, Warren and Grassley emphasized that victims
“will never be made whole financially.”
“Mr.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for stealing $8
billion dollars from users of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. This punishment,
while appropriate, provided cold comfort for his victims,” the senators added.
Warren Is Active in the
Crypto Field
The letter
marks the latest in a series of inquiries spearheaded by Senator Warren in the
wake of FTX’s collapse. In November 2022, she and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-urged the Department of Justice to hold Bankman-Fried and complicit
executives personally accountable for wrongdoing.
Warren also
sent letters to Silvergate Bank and to Bankman-Fried himself, seeking answers
about their roles in the misappropriation of customer funds.
Senator
Warren’s position on cryptocurrencies has been well-known and consistent for
years. In 2021, she described digital assets as “highly opaque and
volatile,” and in 2023, she made headlines with her proposal for the
Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Finance
Magnates contacted
the CFTC press office for comment on the matter, but the Commission did not respond at the time of publication.