The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, requesting the appointment of an independent expert to investigate the causes of the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
In mid-November, FTX management filed for bankruptcy due to lack of liquidity. Since then, the exchange has sought to be held accountable by both investors trying to recover their assets and regulators, including the Bahamas Securities Commission ( SCB ). Therefore, the US Department of Justice believes that the involvement of an independent expert will be more in the interests of FTX creditors and other interested parties.
The Justice Department approved the work of the new CEO of FTX, John J. Ray, who took over as the founder of the exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried. The agency noted that the new FTX management team did a great job of resolving some of the site’s issues. However, even given the competence of the new management, its goals may differ from those of other stakeholders, while the independent auditor will take a neutral position, and the results of his investigation will be more credible.
“As with the previous bankruptcy cases of financial companies Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual Bank and New Century Financial, an independent agent must also be appointed for the FTX case. The issues raised here are too serious to be left for internal investigation,” the petition reads.
Recall that in September, the US Department of Justice created a task force to combat fraud and crime in the cryptocurrency industry.
