FTX stays focus of ‘energetic’ investigation, Bahamas lawyer basic says By Reuters

(Reuters) – Collapsed cryptocurrency trade FTX stays the topic of “an energetic and ongoing investigation” by Bahamian authorities, Bahamian Lawyer Common Ryan Pinder mentioned on Sunday, as he praised the Bahamas’ regulatory regime and swiftness with which it responded to the disaster.

FTX, which had been among the many world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is headquartered within the Bahamas. The agency, whose liquidity crunch compelled the corporate to declare chapter on Nov. 11, is the topic of investigations by Bahamian and U.S. authorities. In mid-November, the Royal Bahamas Police mentioned that authorities investigators within the Bahamas have been whether or not any “prison misconduct occurred.”

“We’re within the early phases of an energetic and ongoing investigation,” Pinder mentioned on Sunday, in keeping with ready remarks for the speech. “It’s a very advanced investigation.” He mentioned it concerned each civil and prison authorities.

Pinder mentioned that the Bahamas Securities Fee, Monetary Intelligence Unit and the police’s Monetary Crimes Unit would “proceed to research the info and circumstances concerning FTX’s insolvency disaster, and any potential violations of Bahamian regulation.”

Pinder additionally defended the Bahamas’ regulatory regime and mentioned that its Securities Fee had moved rapidly “due to the power of the legislative framework.”

Bahamas securities regulators had revoked FTX Digital’s license and started involuntary liquidation proceedings the day earlier than the U.S. chapter case kicked off.

“Any try to put everything of this debacle on the ft of the Bahamas, as a result of FTX is headquartered right here, can be a gross oversimplification of actuality,” Pinder mentioned, including that the Bahamas Securities Fee had moved with “exceptional” pace in response.

Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, based FTX in 2019 and rode cryptocurrency growth to a internet price that Forbes pegged a yr in the past at $26.5 billion. Bankman-Fried resigned as FTX’s chief government officer the identical day because the agency’s chapter submitting.

The liquidity crunch got here after Bankman-Fried secretly moved $10 billion of FTX buyer funds to his proprietary buying and selling agency, Alameda Analysis, Reuters reported, citing two folks aware of the matter.

The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Manhattan, led by veteran securities fraud prosecutor Damian Williams, in mid-November started investigating how FTX dealt with buyer funds, a supply with information of the probe instructed Reuters. The Securities and Trade Fee and Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee additionally opened probes.

FTX’s demise comes after a string of meltdowns which have taken down different key gamers together with Voyager Digital and Celsius Community and led some world buyers to query the viability of the cryptocurrency sector.