FTX collapse: Ready to subpoena Sam Bankman-Fried if needed, says US House panel chairman

House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters told Reuters on Thursday that she was ready to subpoena FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried if he does not agree to appear before the panel next week. next, and working on the best way to do it.

“We made it clear that we wanted Sam at our December 13 hearing. If he doesn’t cooperate, we’re prepared to subpoena,” Waters said in an interview at the U.S. Capitol.

Regulators around the world, including in the Bahamas where FTX is based and in the United States, are investigating the role of top FTX executives, including Bankman-Fried, in the company’s stunning collapse, Reuters previously reported. The crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy last month after a liquidity crunch that saw at least $1 billion (around Rs 8,200 crore) in customer funds disappear.

Prosecutors and regulators have not charged Bankman-Fried with any crime.

Waters said she had the power to issue a subpoena herself, but could put it to a vote in committee, adding that she would first work out the procedure with Rep. Patrick McHenry, the lawmaker Republican who will chair the panel when his party takes control of the House in January. She said no decision has been made so far. “I could really do it myself. We’d probably do a vote,” she said. “I have to work out with Mr. McHenry how we’ll do it. But we’ll issue a subpoena.”

“Either he participates or not. And that’s where we make our decision,” Waters said. “It’s fair and just, and it makes sense, to say we want you here.”

She declined to say whether Bankman-Fried would be required to appear in person or could testify by video link.

A Bankman-Fried spokesperson declined to comment. McHenry’s office was not immediately available for comment.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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