Congressman Tom Emmer alleges SEC Chairman Gensler was aware of FTX fraud

U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer has alleged that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler knew that FTX was fraudulent, but still held meetings with the disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Recent developments saw Dec. 13 as a day of much activity for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The disgraced ex-CEO was reprimanded in prison by the Bahamas authority and subsequently charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

The SEC had charged Sam Bankman-Fried for defrauding FTX investors of over $1.8 billion, since its inception in May 2019. Following the SEC’s charges, Gary Gensler released a press release which stated:

“Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto.”

The SEC added that Sam Bankman-Fried orchestrated fraudulent activities and failed to disclose the diversion of FTX customers’ funds to his privately-owned Alameda Research.

However, U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer in a tweet shared a section of the SEC’s filing which reads:

“From the inception of FTX, Bankman-Fried diverted FTX customer funds to Alameda, and he continued to do so until FTX’s collapse in November 2022.” 

In scrutinizing the filing, Congressman Tom Emmer alleged that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler was aware that FTX was fraudulent from its inception.

“Gary Gensler knows that FTX was fraudulent from its inception. This is egregious considering he had more meetings with Bankman-Fried than anyone in the space.”

Emmer said the SEC Chairman will be held accountable, for holding several meetings with the founder of an exchange that the commission deemed fraudulent.

Emmer investigating Gensler’s tie to FTX

Gary Gensler reportedly met with Sam Bankman-Fried earlier in March. Congressman Emmer alleged that the meeting was centered on engaging the SEC Chairman to favor FTX in its regulatory provisions.

Tom Emmer said that his office will get to the root of Gensler’s relationship with FTX. He added that reports available to him alleged that Gensler was working to help FTX obtain a regulatory monopoly.

Congressman Emmer also blamed Gary Gensler and Sam Bankman-Fried for the FTX collapse, which he considers a failure of business ethics, and regulatory oversight.