- They aim to understand Behnam’s relationship with Bankman-Fried before the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- The official document request seeks clarity on the nature and extent of their interactions.
Senators Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Chuck Grassley from Iowa have submitted an official request for records to Rostin Behnam, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Â
They are inquiring about his dealings with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Their request aims to clarify the nature of the interactions between Behnam and Bankman-Fried prior to FTX’s financial downfall.
The senators’ letter, sent on Monday, stresses the need to protect American investors and to investigate how such a significant financial breakdown occurred under regulatory watch. They have given Behnam until April 29 to provide records of his meetings, phone calls, and correspondence with Bankman-Fried.
Behnam previously testified to the Senate Agriculture Committee in 2022, disclosing that he and his team had about 10 encounters with Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives in the 14 months leading up to the company’s bankruptcy in November of that year. He also acknowledged exchanging several messages with Bankman-Fried.
Read more: FTX Lawyers Argue for Zero Claims on SBF-Linked Cryptocurrencies
This documentation request is a continuation of Senator Warren’s broader investigation into FTX’s failure, which also includes probing the involvement of financial institutions like Silvergate Bank in potentially facilitating questionable financial activities associated with Bankman-Fried’s operations.
