Sam Bankman-Fried backs Bahamas legal professional common Ryan Pinder’s speech defending FTX ‘debacle’

Throughout a 23 minute pre-taped speech, Ryan Pinder, who can be a senator and the minister for authorized affairs, summarized FTX’s collapse and alluded to The Bahamas’ authorities’s actions, whereas additionally in search of to reassure buyers and vacationers that the nation was a protected place to each go to and function a enterprise.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appreciated and retweeted the Workplace of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas’ tweet on the speech.

The Securities Fee of The Bahamas moved “swiftly” by suspending FTX Digital Markets’ license and appointing provisional liquidators, and in a while, securing FTX Digital Markets’ belongings “to be held on behalf of and for the profit and restitution of purchasers and collectors of FTX,” Pinder stated.

“It will be important for me to share this abstract of what occurred, as a result of over the previous couple of weeks, the fundamental details have been obscured by guessing video games and rumors,” Pinder stated. “We perceive the big curiosity on this story however as a authorities, we determined instantly that what was most essential was to not interact with hypothesis or gossip, however as a substitute to proceed methodically and intentionally in accordance with the train of due course of and the rule of regulation.”

Pinder reiterated at varied factors throughout his speech that The Bahamas wouldn’t share additional details about ongoing civil and prison investigations for concern of compromising them.

Pinder additionally echoed the fee’s earlier remarks complaining that new FTX CEO John Ray III “misrepresented” the federal government’s actions. In a courtroom submitting, Ray and FTX’s attorneys accused The Bahamas’ authorities of ordering “unauthorized” transactions. The fee claimed that these actions have been in reality to guard FTX’s funds.

“We urge all authorities right here and overseas at a minimal to train at the least the identical quantity of prudence and restraint of their public commentary as we achieve this as to not prejudice any of the proceedings which might be ongoing,” Pinder stated. “This can be very regrettable that in chapter 11 filings for chapter safety made in New York final week that the brand new chief govt of FTX Buying and selling Restricted – not the Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, however an affiliate firm integrated in Antigua and Barbuda – misrepresented the well timed motion taken by the Securities Fee and used inaccurate allegations lodged within the switch movement they’d filed to take action.”

The majority of Pinder’s speech targeted on arguing that The Bahamas’ regulatory regime was adequate to supervise crypto companies. He claimed that no different regulator might transfer as rapidly because the Securities Fee had, stated there are not any international requirements for crypto regulation, appeared to make a dig on the U.S.’s SEC/CFTC turf warfare in referencing international locations with an absence of regulators with statutory authority to supervise crypto markets and asserting that The Bahamas maintains “international management” as each a tourism vacation spot and as a jurisdiction for startups.

Customary and Poor’s even forecast a “secure outlook” for the nation’s economic system, anticipating “no materials opposed impression” from FTX’s collapse, Pinder stated, after praising The Bahamas’ legal guidelines round cryptocurrency regulation.

“Any try to put the whole lot of this debacle on the toes of the Bahamas, as a result of FTX is headquartered right here could be a gross oversimplification of actuality,” he stated. “… we now have been shocked on the ignorance of those that have stated that FTX got here to the Bahamas as a result of they didn’t wish to undergo regulatory scrutiny.”

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