Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested just before his committee appearance was scheduled.
Leadership in the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee was not satisfied with Securities and Exchange Commission head Gary Gensler’s response to their request for documents. They have reached out to the SEC chairman again in a sharply worded letter.
Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and the chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Rep. Bill Huizenga, wrote Gensler on Feb. 10, “demanding records and communications between and among both the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, the Office of the Chair, and the Department of Justice (DOJ)” in regard to the timing of charging and arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried was scheduled to appear before the Financial Services Committee on Dec. 13, but was prevented from testifying by his arrest.
#NEW: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry and @RepHuizenga call out @SECGov Chair Gensler for failing to provide information on charges against @SBF_FTX.
The lawmakers are considering all avenues to compel documents requested by Congress.
Read more https://t.co/LzZllFfHaQ pic.twitter.com/q1CNfW1npm
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) April 13, 2023
The SEC has missed deadlines for submitting the documents requested and so impeded the work of the committee. Moreover, SEC staff provided 232 pages of documents that were “publicly available and not responsive to the request.”
Related: US lawmakers argue SEC accounting policy places crypto customers at risk
The legislators set a new deadline for select documents of April 17 at the end of the workday. They warned:
“Failure to produce the requested information could result in the Committee considering using compulsory process, if necessary, to obtain the requested information.”
Attached to the letter were 14 pages of instructions “for the purpose of this Request” for producing the material the congressmen had requested.
Gensler is set to appear before the committee in person on April 18, McHenry has previously announced.
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