{"id":527264,"date":"2022-12-15T06:58:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T03:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-curious-timing-of-scammy-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-bust\/"},"modified":"2022-12-15T06:58:57","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T03:58:57","slug":"the-curious-timing-of-scammy-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-curious-timing-of-scammy-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-bust\/","title":{"rendered":"#The curious timing of \u2018scammy\u2019 Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s crypto-bust"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfa26da1e0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfa26da1e0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-curious-timing-of-scammy-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-bust\/#%E2%80%9CThe_curious_timing_of_%E2%80%98scammy_Sam_Bankman-Frieds_crypto-bust%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;The curious timing of \u2018scammy\u2019 Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s crypto-bust&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThe_curious_timing_of_%E2%80%98scammy_Sam_Bankman-Frieds_crypto-bust%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;The curious timing of \u2018scammy\u2019 Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s crypto-bust&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Miranda Devine\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=152 152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=114 114w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=76 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png?w=38 38w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/miranda-devine222.png 706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>When alleged crypto-fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried finished testifying at a congressional hearing last December, Democrat Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, blew him a kiss as he walked by.<\/p>\n<p>And why not, since the shambolic 30-year-old former multibillionaire is acknowledged to be the second-biggest donor to the Democrats, after George Soros.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He helped bankroll Joe Biden into the White House and had promised to donate $1 billion to help the party win the 2024 presidential election.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are those, such as Elon Musk, who allege that SBF, as he is called, already has funneled $1 billion of stolen customer funds to Dem causes via various dark money PACs. Others on Wall Street put the number lower, at maybe $500 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that was the entire point of FTX, at least in the end.<\/p>\n<p>Now the jittery video-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> addict faces federal charges in Manhattan of money laundering, and campaign finance violations along with wire and securities fraud.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So it probably should have been no surprise that SBF was a no-show Tuesday for what should have been hostile questioning at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, presided over by his fairy godmother Waters.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/AFP_333A9BT.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Sam Bankman-Fried testifies on Feb. 9, 2022.\" class=\"wp-image-25018368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/AFP_333A9BT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/AFP_333A9BT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/AFP_333A9BT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/AFP_333A9BT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal charges over FTX. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some members were said to be looking forward to a good grilling of the alleged fraudster, about what h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened to the $8 billion that\u2019s gone missing from his collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And it is fair to say, some weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>As it turned out, Democrats \u2014 and perhaps Republicans \u2014 were spared the embarrassment. SBF was conveniently arrested in the Bahamas, just hours before his Zoom testimony before Chairman Waters\u2019 hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She was oh so disappointed that SBF couldn\u2019t appear, but the hearing would struggle on, hearing from FTX\u2019s new bankruptcy CEO John Ray III about the extraordinarily lax record keeping in what he called a \u201cpaperless bankruptcy.\u201d \u201cNever in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/FTX-Bankman-Fried_54928jpg-85ed8.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Rep. Maxine Waters speaks during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing on April 6, 2022 in Washington, DC.\" class=\"wp-image-25018367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/FTX-Bankman-Fried_54928jpg-85ed8.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/FTX-Bankman-Fried_54928jpg-85ed8.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/FTX-Bankman-Fried_54928jpg-85ed8.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/FTX-Bankman-Fried_54928jpg-85ed8.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Rep. Maxine Waters blew Bankman-Fried a kiss at a congressional hearing last December.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s quite something coming from the former Enron liquidator.<\/p>\n<p>But wouldn\u2019t you think, if you were a prosecutor, that you would be bitterly disappointed to have missed the opportunity of seeing garrulous young Sam testify under oath for hours, before you arrested him? What difference would a few more hours have made?<\/p>\n<p>The excuse floated in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> is that he was a \u201cflight risk.\u201d But his mother, Stanford University law professor Barbara Fried, reportedly laughed out loud at her son\u2019s extradition hearing Tuesday in a Nassau court when he was called a \u201cfugitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former prosecutors smelled a rat. Republican Rep. William Timmons, of South Carolina, a member of Waters\u2019 committee, called the timing of SBF\u2019s arrest \u201cbizarre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve prosecuted complex white-collar cases. The thought of getting six hours of congressional grilling for the target of an investigation, or a defendant, that would be great for my case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Timmons pointed out that the Manhattan grand jury returned SBF\u2019s indictment last Friday, Dec.\u20099. \u201cTechnically, you could delay weeks if you want to. So, this was a decision made by somebody at the DOJ to prevent Sam Bankman-Fried from coming here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t just Republicans who thought the timing of SBF\u2019s arrest was suspicious.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/2022-12-07T184243Z_906228149_RC251Y9XINL0_RTRMADP_3_USA-SEC-STOCKS.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Gary Gensler testifies on Sept. 15, 2022.\" class=\"wp-image-25018366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/2022-12-07T184243Z_906228149_RC251Y9XINL0_RTRMADP_3_USA-SEC-STOCKS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/2022-12-07T184243Z_906228149_RC251Y9XINL0_RTRMADP_3_USA-SEC-STOCKS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/2022-12-07T184243Z_906228149_RC251Y9XINL0_RTRMADP_3_USA-SEC-STOCKS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/2022-12-07T184243Z_906228149_RC251Y9XINL0_RTRMADP_3_USA-SEC-STOCKS.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Securities and Exchange Commission\u00a0Chairman Gary Gensler met with Sam Bankman-Fried twice over the past year.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Democrat Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts asked Ray: \u201cDo we have your commitment that .\u2009.\u2009. if you find any evidence of improper collusion between Mr. Bankman-Fried and any authorities, in the Bahamas and elsewhere, you make that known to us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d said Ray, but honestly, how will he ever know? He has his hands full looking at the financials, such as they are, of the company. Figuring out why the arrest was timed to suit SBF\u2019s defense counsel is not in his remit.<\/p>\n<p>Republican John Rose of Tennessee drily described the timing as \u201cinteresting\u201d and took a well-deserved swipe at Securities and Exchange Commission\u00a0Chairman Gary Gensler.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a recovering attorney, it makes me wonder why a prosecutor would not want to potentially add lying to Congress to accompany the list of charges against Mr. Bankman-Fried,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt also makes me wonder why the SEC waited until today to file its own charges .\u2009.\u2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChairman Gensler has failed at his job, and worst of all, he has failed to protect investors.\u2009.\u2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile he has been asleep at the wheel, the Democratic majority has failed to have him testify to this committee for over 14 months, which I believe is a disservice to investors.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"710\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/110822zeldinelection56MATT.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Lee Zeldin speaks onstage.\" class=\"wp-image-25018365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/110822zeldinelection56MATT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/110822zeldinelection56MATT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/110822zeldinelection56MATT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/110822zeldinelection56MATT.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Lee Zeldin suggested Bankman-Fried\u2019s Monday arrest occurred to prevent the ex-CEO from testifying about his relationship with Gensler.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew McDermott<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gensler, the former finance chief of Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign, has a lot to explain about FTX\u2019s collapse.<\/p>\n<p>Why, for instance, did he meet with SBF twice over the past year, unprecedented access for the target of a major fraud, according to Post contributing business commentator Charlie Gasparino.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>And why did Gensler scrub from his public calendar details of meetings with his old boss Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and SBF\u2019s fellow billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, as reported this week by Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, a former prosecutor who has served on the House Financial Services Committee, had his own theories about why SBF was nabbed before he could sing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like you\u2019re trying to protect someone,\u201d he said, surmising the motive may have been to prevent SBF from testifying about his relationship with Gensler.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former prosecutor Andy McCarthy, once an SDNY assistant US attorney, is similarly perplexed, saying the only explanation that makes sense, apart from incompetence by prosecutors, \u201cis they didn\u2019t like the prospect of what was going to come out at the hearings .\u2009.\u2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the Democrats who run the Justice Department accommodate the Democrats who run the committee,\u201d he told Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>No one believes SBF\u2019s claim that he donated just as much money to Republicans as he did to Democrats, and there is no evidence to back him up. But FTX did funnel several million to chosen Republicans, which seems to have worked out as an insurance policy for Democrats at Waters\u2019 hearing Tuesday. Cheap protection if it is.<\/p>\n<p>According to a keyword search of the CSPAN transcript, in four hours of testimony by Ray, not one question was asked about campaign donations by either side.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The closest was Republican Bill Huizenga of Michigan. \u201cMr. Bankman-Fried has, let\u2019s say, wooed many in New York and Silicon Valley, [and] here in DC .\u2009.\u2009. Everybody loved the exciting idea of a politically progressive, smart entrepreneur, who was going to reimagine capitalism and change the world, feeling better about themselves, all while making them gobs of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The gobs of money went almost entirely to Democrats. Are Republicans really going to give them a free pass because of the embarrassment of admitting they took some ill-gotten crumbs off the table? They should pay it all back so they can work with clean hands, because you can bet there will be another scam for 2024.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/14\/the-curious-timing-of-scammy-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-bust\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The curious timing of \u2018scammy\u2019 Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s crypto-bust&#8221; When alleged crypto-fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried finished testifying at a congressional hearing last December, Democrat Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, blew him a kiss as he walked by. And why not, since the shambolic 30-year-old former multibillionaire is acknowledged to be the second-biggest donor&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":527265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/newspress-collage-25018205-1671076355534.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1671058432&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[135234,89897,137212,70231,10701,67844],"class_list":["post-527264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ftx","tag-sam-bankman-fried","tag-12-14-22","tag-arrests","tag-democrats","tag-republicans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}