U.S. lawmakers have requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to release records of their communication with FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
In a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Feb. 10, Rep. Bill Huizenga asked that the agency release all records and communications between its enforcement division and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Huizenga, who serves as chairman of Congress’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, raised questions about the timing of Bankman-Fried’s arrest. The former FTX CEO was scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing on Dec. 13 but did not get to make his testimony given that he was arrested the previous night.
The SEC enforcement division’s director, Gurbir Grewal, released a statement following his arrest, crediting the agency with authorizing the charges against Bankman-Fried.
“Presumably, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement did a complete investigation into the actions by Sam Bankman-Fried and presented the findings to the Commission for its review to authorize the charges. Yet, the timing of the charges and his arrest raise serious questions about the SEC’s process and cooperation with the Department of Justice,” said Huizenga.
The congressman asked that interactions from Nov. 2 and Feb. 9 between Grewal, Gensler and all SEC employees connected with the charges filed against Bankman-Fried be delivered by Feb. 24.
The Committee on Financial Services has jurisdiction to oversee the SEC’s activities in this regard, said Huizenga.
The move was praised by members of the crypto community, who called for more transparency from the regulator. It also comes amid a series of new enforcement actions from the SEC against crypto companies, most recently targeting staking services provided by crypto exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase.
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- Source: https://unchainedpodcast.com/congress-asks-sec-to-release-communications-with-doj-related-to-ftx/
