Sam Bankman-Fried reveals the circumstances behind Bahamian withdrawals
FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has divulged what really went on in the days before it filed for bankruptcy when the exchange selectively reopened withdrawals — only for Bahamian users.
In a telephone interview with crypto blogger Tiffany Fong, dated Nov. 16, Bankman-Fried claims to have made the decision to reopen withdrawals to Bahamian citizens as he did not want himself, nor the exchange, to be in a country “with a lot of angry people in it.”
“The reason I did it was it was critical to the exchange being able to have a future because that’s where I am right now, and you do not want to be in a country with a lot of angry people in it and you do not want your company to be incorporated in a country with a lot of angry people in it,” he said.
Bankman-Fried claims he gave Bahamian securities regulators a “one-day heads up” that FTX was going to do it, but said the regulator neither responded with a “yes or no,” before he ultimately decided to go ahead with allowing withdrawals.
The now-defunct crypto exchange initially halted all withdrawals on Nov. 8 as a result of liquidity issues.
On Nov. 10, only a day before it filed for bankruptcy, the exchange noted it had begun to facilitate withdrawals of Bahamian funds. At the time, it claimed that it was in compliance with the demands of the country’s regulators — leading to millions of dollars worth of funds extracted from the exchange.
However, the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) threw a wrench into FTX’s narrative, stating on Nov. 12 that it had neither instructed nor authorized FTX to prioritize withdrawals of Bahamian clients.
They also warned that any withdrawal of funds could be clawed back as part of the firm’s liquidation proceedings.
Cointelegraph
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