SBF, former CEO of FTX is now seeking more time to appear before the US congressional hearing that is slated to take place on Dec 13 in Washington, D.C. On 5 Nov, Bankman-Fried tweeted that once he is done with “finished learning and reviewing”, he would testify.
Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain. I’m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify.
The tweet was in response to a post from U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters on Twitter who extended an invitation for a hearing on Capitol Hill. Waters wrote,
“We appreciate that you’ve been candid in your discussions about what happened at #FTX,” the Congresswoman wrote. “Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others.”
Although SBF did not outrightly deny the invitation, his reluctance to appear at the scheduled date has irked many in the community as they felt he is simply evading to avoid arrest.
The disgraced crypto entrepreneur is in the limelight after the fall of his crypto empire which many thoughts was too big to fail.
What acted as the final nail to the coffin is that Bankman-Fried was accused of misappropriating customers’ funds in risky market investment schemes.
On the other hand, he was also the second largest donor to the Democratic Party, after billionaire George Soros, in the 2021-2022 election cycle.
As per details from Opensecrets, SBF donated $39 million to Democrats before FTX imploded and had to file for bankruptcy.
An estimated one million customers and investors lost billions of dollars in the exchange collapse. FTX is currently being investigated for mishandling customer funds.
After being snubbed by the current FTX CEO, Bankman-Fried continued to maintain innocence and appeared in several high-profile media coverage including the controversial WSJ.
Wall Street Journal Coverage on SBF Was Criticized By Many
The Wall Street Journal, in particular, ran a story titled ‘Sam Bankman-Fried’s Plans to Save the World Went Down in Flames‘ which was harshly criticized by many industry big players who compared it to giving a ‘foot massage to a criminal.’
Again on Nov 30, SBF gave his first live public appearance during the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. The next day, he appeared in a Good Morning America interview and a Twitter space hosted by IBC Group founder and CEO Mario Nawfal.
On these occasions, SBF reiterated that he didn’t purposefully mix up customer payments.