Bahamas accuses FTX management of impeding investigation

The Bahamas Securities Commission (SCB) said FTX’s leadership was impeding its investigations by denying the court-appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL) access to the bankrupt firm’s systems, according to a Jan. 2 press release.

The SCB also accused FTX’s CEO John Ray III of false statements that could promote mistrust of public institutions in the Caribbean country.

According to the regulator, attempts at cooperation have failed because the CEO has not responded to such requests since Dec. 7. It added that Ray does not state any of his concerns with the Commission before airing them publicly.

Meanwhile, the financial regulator said FTX management’s recent statement challenging its calculations of the seized assets was based on incomplete information. According to the regulator, the FTX leadership has failed to utilize its ability to request information from JPL.

“The U.S. Debtors’ continued lack of diligence when making public statements concerning the Commission is disappointing, and reflects a cavalier attitude towards the truth and towards The Bahamas that has been displayed by the current officers of the Chapter 11 Debtors from the date of their appointment by Sam Bankman-Fried.”

The Bahamian authority said on Dec. 29 that it was temporarily holding FTX assets worth $3.5 billion. However, the bankrupt exchange leadership asked the SCB to “clear up any confusion” surrounding the worth of the seized crypto assets.

The government agency also said statements alleging that the assets under the control of the Commission were stolen or that it directed FTX employees to mint $300 million FTT tokens were made without any evidence.