The United States SEC Ethics Committee is investigating Chair Gary Gensler and FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s relationship.
Gary Gensler, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, is being investigated by the agency’s ethics committee for his alleged connections to Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency trading platform FTX Derivatives Exchange.
Suspicion Regarding SEC Chair
According to a report in the New York Post, Gensler’s March 2022 45-minute Zoom call with SBF has raised many eyebrows. According to Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by the publication, the SEC chairman did not solicit permission from the office of the Ethics Counsel to attend the meeting.
The crypto ecosystem has repeatedly highlighted the relationship between Gensler and Bankman-Fried, despite the fact that many industry leaders have lamented their lack of access to the top market regulator. According to an investigation by the New York Post, failing to request permission to meet with SBF is a protocol violation.
It is presumed that Gensler is aware that it might have been denied if he had submitted the request. This makes the situation even more concerning. A SEC spokesperson stated that the ethics committee pre-approved the meeting, but no documentation was produced to support this claim.
“The fact that the SEC appears unwilling to share all the documentation associated with the vetting of this meeting should raise enormous red flags for investigators,” Thomas Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation added that “These types of special-access meetings are where some of the worst abuses in Washington happen and the American people need to know what happened in the lead up to this meeting.”
While multiple conflicts of interest and associations continue to be flagged and investigated, it is still being determined how the Ethics Committee’s investigation into the SEC Chair will proceed.
FTX Creditors Remain in the Red
While the media and regulators investigate vital aspects of FTX’s operations during Bankman-Fried’s tenure, users and creditors of the trading platform continue to be the most significant losers today.
While there is a glimmer of hope that some locked funds may be recovered, the attorneys of the trading platforms have reaped the most significant benefits to date, with millions of dollars spent on legal fees, according to reports.
