With the arrest of ex-CEO FTX Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the authorities want to “send a message” to representatives of the digital asset industry. About it CoinDesk Renato Mariotti, former U.S. Justice Department Securities and Commodities Fraud Attorney, said.
He suggested that his involvement in the media contributed to the detention of the SBF.
“From the point of view of the Ministry of Justice, Bankman-Fried was spreading misinformation and creating distrust in the regulators that control the market,” Mariotti explained.
The specialist pointed to suspicions that the oversight bodies will not pursue SBF because of the $40 million he spent on political campaigns, including $5.2 million for current US President Joe Biden.
The collapse of FTX “definitely” ruined the reputation of cryptocurrencies in the eyes of the authorities. There was energy to eliminate shortcomings in its regulation, the expert added.
Mariotti predicted “a large number of law enforcement actions” against industry participants, especially from SEC. He does not wait for favorable regulation – the Bankman-Freed situation will become the basis for more active involvement of the supervisory authorities.
“Administration [Байдена] believes that the digital asset market is not regulated, therefore [криптофирмы] convinced that they can get away with anything. For this reason, departments are striving to set a flag and send a signal.”the specialist explained.
On December 13, law enforcement in the Bahamas arrested FTX founder Sam Bankman-Freed at the request of the US government.
The court denied him release on $250,000 bail, but on December 15, Eyewitness News Bahamas reported that Bankman-Freed had filed a new petition.
BREAKING: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a new application for bail before the Supreme Court, Eyewitness News can confirm. The bail application is set to be heard before the Supreme Court on January 17, 2023. pic.twitter.com/92zmlnpocj
— Eyewitness News Bahamas (@ewnewsbahamas) December 15, 2022
Recall that the SEC accused the SBF of defrauding FTX investors and using funds from clients of the trading platform, СFTC – in violation of the Law on Commodity Exchanges.
The US Attorney’s Office charged Bankman-Fried with eight criminal offenses, which in total threatens him with up to 115 years in prison.
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