Last Friday, the Senate Banking Committee issued a statement as to whether or not, Sam Bankman-Fried will attend a Hearing on the FTX disaster and ensuing bankruptcy filing. The hearing is scheduled for next week on December 14, a day after the House Committee on Financial Services holds a hearing on the same subject. The difference between the two is it is not yet clear if Bankman-Fried will participate in the Senate hearing while he has already committed to participate in the House meeting (either in person or, more likely, by video).
Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, and Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking Republican member, issued the joint statement below:
“Sam Bankman-Fried’s counsel did not respond by the stated deadline. We believe it’s important that Bankman-Fried show he is willing to provide transparency and accountability to the American people by providing testimony,” said Senators Brown and Toomey. “We will continue to work on having him appear before Congress as detailed in Wednesday’s letter.”
Entitled Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers, the hearing already has a solid roster of witnesses scheduled to share their perspectives. These include:
- Professor Hilary J. Allen, American University Washington College of Law;
- Kevin O’Leary, Investor in FTX and well-known Shark (Mr. Wonderful)
- Jennifer J. Schulp, Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute;
- Ben McKenzie Schenkkan, Actor and Author.
The Committee indicates it may add other witnesses.
The letter sent to Bankman-Fried by the Committee indicates they will issue a subpoena to encourage his participation if he decides to ignore or deny the request.
The Hearing is scheduled to occur on December 14, 2022, at 10 AM ET. It will be live-streamed on the Committee’s website.