- Chair Waters told Democrats that there was no plan to subpoena Sam Bankman-Fried to the House’s hearing on Dec. 13.
Earlier, on Sunday, Dec. 4th, Chair Maxine Waters suggested that FTX’s ex-CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, appear before the House Financial Services Committee’s hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. According to her tweet, the House would welcome SBF’s participation in its hearing to discuss the events surrounding FTX’s collapse and plans to compensate affected investors and users. In response, SBF noted that he was unlikely to appear until he had “finished learning and reviewing” what happened.
However, a subpoena would mean that the committee would compel SBF to appear before them and attend the hearing. But Waters reportedly informed committee members at a private meeting on Tuesday with controversial SEC chairman Gary Gensler on Capitol Hill that she wants SBF to testify voluntarily. While SBF has granted a series of interviews, many affected investors believe he is yet to admit his guilt.
Although he has been under scrutiny by federal investigators and lawmakers, there have also been calls by crypto Twitter to US regulators to arrest him alongside Alameda Research’s former CEO, Caroline Ellison.
In other news, Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has threatened to subpoena SBF if he fails to voluntarily show up at the committee’s hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Following reports that SBF and a few FTX ex-employees donated to both Democrats and Republicans towards elections cause, they (lawmakers) have been accused by many of shielding the donors from prosecution, likening FTX’s collapse to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Monies donated by SBF and his cohorts are reportedly users’ funds, which he also commingled to bail out Alameda Research after the 3AC/LUNA incident blew it out. As a result, FTX mismanaged up to $10 billion of its customers’ funds.
Meanwhile, a subsequent update by CNBC has revealed that Chair Waters has hinted at subpoena if SBF doesn’t appear next Tuesday. According to her, a subpoena is definitely on the table, debunking rumours that she is unwilling to subpoena him.
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