The Bahamas Securities Commission has challenged the FTX’s claim that the cryptocurrency seized from the bankrupt crypto exchange was not worth $3.5 billion. The new FTX chief’s “continued lack of diligence in making public statements regarding the Commission is disappointing,” the Bahamian regulator stressed.
Bahamian regulators and the FTX disagree on the value of seized crypto assets
The Bahamas Securities Commission issued a statement Monday stating that it is “correcting a material misstatement” made by the FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, regarding the value of cryptocurrencies seized from the FTX. Ray represents U.S. FTX debtors in the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy filing (Chapter 11 Debtors).
The Bahamian regulator explained that on December 30, 2022, FTX and Ray “openly challenged the Commission’s calculation” of the value of crypto assets transferred to its digital wallet on November 12. According to the Commission, more than $3.5 billion in cryptocurrency was seized from FTX. However, Ley claimed that the value of the digital assets transferred that day was actually about $296 million.
In a statement Monday, the Commission claimed that the U.S. FTX debtors’ calculations were “based on incomplete information.”
The Chapter 11 debtors chose not to utilize their ability to request information from the Joint Provisional Liquidators pursuant to a Bahamas Supreme Court court order… It is unfortunate that the U.S. Debtor continues to lack diligence in making public statements regarding this Committee.”
The Bahamian regulator alleged that FTX’s new CEO made false statements regarding the Commission “without evidence” in court filings on December 12, 2022, and again under oath before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on December 13. The regulator specifically referred to accusations that it asked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to mint “a substantial amount of new tokens” during the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy process.
The Commission further stated that
Mr. Rey never contacted the Commission to discuss his concerns before making them public.
Mr. Lay was appointed the new CEO of FTX and its chief restructuring officer when Bankman Fried stepped down when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy. Wray, who once led Enron during the energy giant’s bankruptcy, said of FTX in November that he had “never seen such a complete failure of corporate control and a complete lack of reliable financial information as occurred here.”
The Bahamas Securities Commission further found that FTX’s new CEO had not responded to a December 7 letter from Bahamian regulators offering “cooperation with Chapter 11 debtors.”
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