Despite giving a series of interviews in the past few days, Sam Bankman-Fried seemed reluctant to testify before Congress.
The founder of the bankrupt exchange FTX, currently residing in the Bahamas, seemingly snubbed the request to appear at a congressional hearing about FTX’s collapse.
In response to the invitation by Committee Chair Rep. Maxine Waters (NYSE:WAT), Bankman-Fried signaled that he might not be ready to appear at a Dec. 13 hearing to discuss what caused the FTX bankruptcy. Waters said that she would be willing to let him appear via video.
“Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain. I’m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify,” Bankman-Fried responded in a tweet.
Bankman-Fried took heavy criticism from the public for his seemingly nonchalant response to the invitation.
“Scam Bankrupt-Fraud will answer to the House of Representatives when he damn well feels like it and decides to,” one Twitter user wrote.
Blockchain Association Head of Policy Jake Chervinsky, a US attorney, shared his views. He said that Bankman-Fried’s reluctance to appear before Congress might have something to do with the consequences of lying under oath.
.tweet-container,.twitter-tweet.twitter-tweet-rendered,blockquote.twitter-tweet{min-height:261px}.tweet-container{position:relative}blockquote.twitter-tweet{display:flex;max-width:550px;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px}blockquote.twitter-tweet p{font:20px -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,”Segoe UI”,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif}.tweet-container div:first-child{
position:absolute!Important
}.tweet-container div:last-child{
position:relative!Important
}
On Friday, Rep. Maxine Waters invited Bankman-Fried to testify before the House Financial Services Committee. Scheduled for Dec. 13, the committee will hold a hearing about the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.
Waters, the committee chair, thanked Bankman-Fried for being “candid” about the collapse. She added that his willingness to talk to the public would help FTX customers and investors.
During his tenure at FTX, Bankman-Fried gave away millions in political donations. Campaign records show that the former FTX CEO gave mostly to Democratic candidates. However, Bankman-Fried insists that he donated to both Democrats and Republicans.
Waters, a Democratic representative, took criticism for what some viewed as an overly cordial attitude toward Bankman-Fried.
FTX’s collapse shook the crypto industry. A similar scenario could happen again if the main actors are not held accountable.
See original on DailyCoin
