United States (US) House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters yesterday called on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at the committee’s hearing next week into the collapse of Bahamas-headquartered FTX.
“Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it’s clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony,” Waters tweeted.
“As you know, the collapse of FTX has harmed over one million people. Your testimony would not only be meaningful to members of Congress, but is also critical to the American people.
“It is imperative that you attend our hearing on the 13th, and we are willing to schedule continued hearings if there is more information to be shared later.”
Bankman-Fried has given several interviews to international bloggers and media organizations, including The New York Times and ABC News, since stepping down as FTX’s CEO last month.
He has apologized profusely and blamed “huge management failures” for the collapse.
On Friday, Waters addressed Bankman-Fried in a tweet and noted that he has been “candid” in his discussions about what happened at the company.
“Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th,” she tweeted.
Bankman-Fried responded two days later.
He tweeted: “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.”
FTX, which was co-founded by Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy last month after experiencing a liquidity crisis.
Officials have said in court documents that there is evidence of fraud and mismanagement at FTX. FTX has over 100 companies in over 20 countries.
It lost between $10 billion and $50 billion, court documents show.
