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In a bipartisan move, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Grassley have penned a letter to Rostin Behnam, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), seeking clarity regarding Behnam’s engagements with now jailed Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, before the crypto exchange’s downfall. Their inquiry, spurred by a previous communication from Senator Josh Hawley to Behnam and others, aims to “renew requests” for pertinent information.
Despite their differing political ideologies, Senators Warren and Grassley have united to scrutinize Behnam’s prior statements made during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing in December. At the hearing, Behnam disclosed, “My team and I met with Mr. Bankman-Fried and his team […] over the past 14 months, we met 10 times in the CFTC office at their request.”
During this solitary witness testimony, Behnam utilized the platform to advocate for enhanced regulatory authority, emphasizing, “Without new authority for the CFTC, there will remain gaps in a federal regulatory framework, even if other regulators act within their existing authority.”
In their letter dated April 12, Senators Warren and Grassley underscored the imperative of safeguarding the financial interests of Americans. They emphasized, “Safeguarding the savings and retirements of Americans requires Congress and market regulators like the CFTC to determine how this multi-billion-dollar crime was allowed to happen.”
Behnam clarified that FTX-owned and CFTC-regulated LedgerX remained unaffected by the FTX collapse and continued its operations seamlessly.
The senators’ missive requests comprehensive documentation encompassing written correspondences, phone calls, discussions, and meetings involving Behnam, CFTC staff, FTX, and Bankman-Fried or associated executives. Furthermore, they demand a “timeline of CFTC’s knowledge of the fraud committed, including but not limited to a description of any proposed or ongoing investigations into those parties.”
The missive underscores the senators’ desire to “understand the nature of your [Behnam’s] repeated correspondence with Mr. Bankman-Fried” preceding the public revelation of his misconduct.
This bipartisan endeavor highlights the pressing need for transparency and accountability within regulatory bodies to ensure the integrity of financial markets and protect investors’ interests.