Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has agreed to testify in front of the House Committee on Financial Services contingent upon what happens from now until December 13th – the day the hearing is scheduled.
As was previously reported, the Chair of the Committee, Maxine Waters, invited Bankman-Fried to testify via Twitter this past week. Today, Bankman Fried has responded via the same media, stating:
“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.
Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services:
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. https://t.co/c0P8yKlyQt
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 4, 2022
It was not clear if Bankman-Fried would fly into Washington, DC, and participate in the hearing in person or simply participate virtually via his base in the Bahamas.
There has been some speculation that Bankman-Fried may be hesitant to return to the US as the US Department of Justice is investigating any possible criminal activity affiliated with the failure of FTX and the loss of funds by its customers.
It is well-known that Bankman-Fried was the second largest donor to the Democrat Party and there is a picture with him and Waters being circulated on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the bankruptcy proceedings may be impacted by the fact that multiple countries are claiming some proceedings should be pursued within their jurisdiction, most importantly the Bahamanian regulators who have taken control of some of the assets of the crypto exchange.