Though Sam Bankman-Fried could not attend the congressional hearing virtually due to his recent arrest in the Bahamas, United States lawmakers held no punches criticizing the former FTX CEO and business practices at the firm.
As the sole witness before a hearing of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Dec. 13, FTX CEO John Ray
The House committee hearing was the second exploring the collapse of FTX following a Dec. 1 hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in which Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Rostin Behnam was the sole witness. The CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission later filed separate lawsuits against SBF, FTX, and Alameda for fraud.
The Senate Banking Committee has also scheduled a hearing for Dec. 14, with Hollywood star Ben McKenzie, investor Kevin O’Leary, law professor Hilary Allen, and Jennifer Schulp, the director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, appearing as witnesses. It’s unclear whether lawmakers will call on Bankman-Fried to testify amid his current legal issues.
