FTX CEO testifies on pure hell post-bankruptcy days at exchange
John Ray said when he took control of FTX in November 2022, there was a massive scramble for information related to the exchanges funds, insurance and personnel. 5871 Total views 36 Total shares Listen to article 0:00 News Own this piece of history
Collect this article as an NFT John Ray, who took over as CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has described some of the chaotic experiences at the firm following the company declaring bankruptcy.
In testimony for FTXs case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Feb. 6, Ray said he and other professionals had carefully been conducting an investigation into FTXs activities, due to the company having no physical office. The FTX CEO seemed to be pushing back against a motion to assign an independent examiner to the bankruptcy case, claiming that inadvertent errors could result in hundreds of millions of dollars of value being destroyed.
According to Ray, when he took control of FTX in November 2022, there was not a single list of anything related to bank accounts, income, insurance or personnel, causing a massive scramble for information. The FTX CEO said the same day he helped file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, and there were multiple attempts to steal crypto, resulting in security experts and liquidators moving quickly to secure funds.
Your normal first-day petition is chaotic as sometimes can be this was something that I have never experienced, said Ray. Those hacks went on virtually all night long […] It was really 48 hours of what I can only describe as pure hell.
The FTX CEO claimed he had had no connection with former executives at the exchange, including Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried or his parents prior to taking control of the company. According to Ray, anyone that was in a control position under Bankman-Fried no longer had any authority to direct FTX company actions.
Rays testimony came amid a motion from the Office of the U.S. Trustee arguing the court should appoint an independent examiner who would release a public report providing transparency into the bankruptcy proceedings. Juliet Sarkessian, representing the U.S. Trustees office, suggested that, although Ray had no connection to Bankman-Fried prior to his taking over as CEO, the appointment of an examiner was still in the public interest.
Judge John Dorsey did not rule on whether to appoint an independent examiner during the Feb. 6 hearing and instead allowed lawyers on both sides to discuss a “consensual resolution” on the issue.
Related: Justice Dept defends motion to bar SBF from accessing FTX, Alameda assets
FTXs bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing as debtors and interested parties will make motions over the firms assets, investigate the company, and release information potentially affecting Bankman-Frieds criminal case. The legal team representing FTX debtors requested the issuance of subpoenas for information and documents from Bankman-Frieds immediate family on Feb. 1. #Law #Bankruptcy #Cryptocurrency Exchange #FTX #Regulation
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