The Securities Commission of Bahamas has criticised John J. Ray III, CEO of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, for comments he made about the SEC’s probe into FTX.
Without citing the CEO by name, the Bahamian regulator responded to recent accusations that the Bahamas’ government urged former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to develop a new multi-million token and hand over the ownership to them in a press release.
The report also claims that Bahamas officials assisted Bankman-Fried in regaining access to the FTX’s essential computer systems. U.S. attorneys claim that Bahamas officials were “responsible for directing unauthorised access” to FTX systems to take over digital assets.
According to the securities watchdog, they were the first to take decisive action against the defunct exchange and its CEO. In response to the speculation about the custody of digital assets, the announcement stated that the authorities had obtained the transfer of FTX exchange’s possibly “commingled digital assets” per rulings from the supreme court of the Bahamas.
It said in the news release: “The Commission holds those assets as trustee only (under Bahamian Law), and they will be ultimately distributed, to creditors and clients of FTX, wherever they may be located, per the court’s direction.”
The Bahamian governing body criticised Ray for citing “redacted email correspondence” between government officials and Bankman-Fried. The release stated that Ray was aware of the full scenario and that the redactions were made to give a misleading image of communications.
The securities regulator asked Ray and his lawyers not to “obstruct the investigation,” and the CEO was accused of speaking out in public without first discussing his concerns with the commission.
After the U.S. government requested his arrest, former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried was taken into custody by Bahamian police late December 12. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the United States filed fraud charges against Bankman Fried the next day.