Bahamas regulator denies FTX CEO’s claims over seized assets

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas has rejected “material misstatements” made by FTX’s newly-appointed CEO, John J. Ray III, over the commission’s seizure of US$3.5 billion in assets from FTX Digital Markets.

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Fast facts

• According to the Jan. 2 press release by the regulators, Ray had made public statements alleging that the commission “directed FTX employees to mint US$300 million in new FTT tokens.”

• “The Chapter 11 Debtors have also alleged that the digital assets controlled by the Commission in trust for the benefit of customers and creditors of FTXDM were stolen, without providing any substantiated bases for such claims,” wrote Christina Rolle, executive director of the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, referring to the US$3.5 billion seized from FTX’s Bahamian unit.

• “Such unfounded statements have the impact of promoting mistrust of public institutions in The Bahamas,” wrote Rolle, adding that the commission addressed the process of seizing the digital assets from FTX Digital Markets, both in court filings and media statements.

• The statement also criticizes Ray for not responding to the commission’s letter from Dec. 7, which aimed to offer “cooperation with Chapter 11 Debtors.”

• Lastly, the commission expressed concern about its investigation “being impeded by the Chapter 11 Debtors’ insistence on not allowing the Court Supervised Joint Provisional Liquidators access to FTX’s AWS system. “

• The announcement comes days after FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly cashed out US$684,000 worth of crypto from house arrest, potentially violating his release conditions.

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