The FTX investigation is being done by the Bahamian Securities Commission, the financial intelligence unit of the Prime Minister, and a financial crimes unit.
Is FTX Focused On Active And Ongoing?
The Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Ryan Pinder, has confirmed that the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX is the focus of an “active and ongoing” investigation by authorities from the Caribbean nation.
Is FTX’s Insolvency Crisis?
Pinder said in a national statement that was posted live on the Office of the Prime Minister’s Facebook page on November 27 that “both “civil and criminal authorities are looking into the affairs of FTX Digital Markets” and that Bahamian authorities are working with “several specialists and experts” and will continue to do so as needed.
“The Securities Commission, our financial intelligence unit, and the financial crimes unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding FTX’s insolvency crisis and any possible violations of Bahamian law,” he said.
Pinder also said that the Bahamian government would try to hold companies or people accountable if they were found to have done something wrong during the investigation. They would also work with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies worldwide.
“These events remind us of what we’ve learned about the need for strong cooperation across borders from securities and other financial regulations. Strong international regulatory cooperation will do the most good for people worldwide, “he said.
On November 10, the Securities Commission of The Bahamas took away the business license of FTX Digital Markets (FDM) and stripped its directors of their power.
On November 12, they told FDM to move all of its digital assets to a digital wallet that the commission owned to “keep safe.”
Read more : Hack Amidst The Chaos: FTX Hacker Swaps Millions?
What About The Debtors’ System?
Pinder said that the country’s regulatory agency had taken more precautions approved by the Supreme Court. Still, he wouldn’t say more until “we are sure that doing so won’t hurt any part of the ongoing investigations.”
Pinder also criticized an emergency motion filed by FTX Trading Limited on November 17 that accused the “Bahamian government” of “directing unauthorized access to the Debtors’ systems” after Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings began in the US.
He said the accusations were “extremely regrettable” because they misrepresented “the timely action taken by the Securities Commission.” He also defended everything that the country’s regulator has done so far.
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The Bahamas has tried to get crypto companies to move to the island country to help its economy, but the collapse of FTX has shaken things up.
It was also hit hard by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 stopped its heavily tourist-based economy. Many jobs in the small country have been lost since FTX went away.
But Pinder explained that he thinks there will be “little contagion beyond the digital asset sphere, both here in the Bahamas and around the world,” even though the Bahamian collapse by FTX has caused “personal tragedies” for some people.
He talked about Standard & Poor’s ratings for The Bahamas from November 22, which predicted a stable future based on the tourism sector predicted.
“Standards and Poor’s has predicted a stable future for our economy, based partly on the idea that the worldwide collapse of FTX won’t hurt the Bahamas in a big way,” Pinder said.
