The Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) has accused FTX and its CEO John Ray III of obstructing investigations into the bankrupt firm by denying access to court-appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL). In a press release on January 2, the SCB also accused Ray of making false statements that could undermine public trust in institutions in the Bahamas.
According to the SCB, FTX’s leadership has hindered efforts to investigate the company’s financial affairs by refusing to allow JPL access to its systems, making it difficult for the liquidators to fully understand the extent of the company’s assets and liabilities and to determine the best course of action for recovering as much value as possible for FTX’s creditors.
The financial regulator claimed that attempts at cooperation with FTX have failed due to the lack of response from the CEO, John Ray III, since December 7. The regulator also stated that John Ray III had yet to privately communicate his concerns with the Commission before publicly airing them.
In addition, the financial regulator has claimed that the recent statement made by FTX management, in which they challenged the regulator’s calculation of seized assets, was based on incomplete information. The regulator asserts that FTX leadership needs to utilize its ability to request information from JPL, a company involved in the matter.
On December 29, the Bahamian authority announced that it had temporarily seized FTX assets worth $3.5 billion. However, this move confused the leadership of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, who subsequently asked the SCB, the government agency responsible for the seizure, to clarify the situation.
In response, the SCB released a statement denying any wrongdoing and asserting that the assets under their control had not been stolen. The agency also refuted allegations that it had directed FTX employees to mint $300 million worth of FTT tokens without any evidence to support these claims.
Despite this, the SCB is taking a tough stance on what it sees as efforts to obstruct its investigations and undermine public trust in the Bahamas’ regulatory institutions. The situation will be closely watched as it develops.
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