Lawmakers demand information on CFTC chair's relationship with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Quick Take
- Sen. Warren and Sen. Grassley are requesting more information on CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam’s relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried, particularly their correspondence in the months leading up to FTX’s collapse.
Lawmakers are probing the relationship between the U.S.’ head commodities regulator and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
In a letter sent on Monday to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) requested documents pertaining to the regulator's correspondence with Bankman-Fried. According to the letter, the request is to determine the nature of Behnham’s relationship with the crypto CEO.
“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,” the senators said in the letter.
According to the request, Behnam has until April 29 to hand over records of his meetings, phone calls and other correspondence with Bankman-Fried in the lead-up to FTX’s implosion.
In 2022, Behnam testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that he and his team met with Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives roughly 10 times in the 14 months leading to the exchange's bankruptcy in November of that year. He also disclosed to lawmakers that he had exchanged “a number of messages” with the executive.
The letter marks the latest in a series of inquiries into FTX's collapse spearheaded by Sen. Warren. In November 2022, Warren wrote a letter to Sam Bankman-Fried and then-new FTX CEO John Jay Ray III requesting details on the misappropriation of FTX customers’ funds. A month later, the alleged anti-crypto lawmaker demanded answers from Silvergate Bank about its role in facilitating Bankman-Fried's crimes.
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