Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican of North Carolina and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Top House Republicans on Friday sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission as Congress scrutinizes the agency’s actions against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
In a letter addressed to SEC chairman Gary Gensler, Reps. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Bill Huizenga, chair of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, demanded records and communications among and between the SEC’s enforcement division, the Justice Department and Gensler’s office on the timing of the charges filed against Bankman-Fried for defrauding his investors and other violations.
Sam Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify before the committee in December a day before he was arrested by Bahamian officials.
“Presumably, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement did a complete investigation into the actions by Sam Bankman-Fried and presented the findings to the Commission for its review and to authorize the charges,” the letter states. “Yet, the timing of the charges and his arrest raise serious questions about the SEC’s process and cooperation with the Department of Justice.”
The Financial Services Committee issued a deadline for the requested records by 5 p.m. on Feb. 23.
