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A bipartisan duo of lawmakers Monday night questioned the wisdom of arresting disgraced crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried the day before he was set to testify before Congress about the collapse of his FTX exchange.
The 30-year-old FTX founder was nabbed by authorities in The Bahamas Monday night after criminal charges were filed against him by US prosecutors.
But Bankman-Fried’s sudden arrest means the shaggy-haired former billionaire will be exempt from testifying at Tuesday’s House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) was among those to criticize the timing of his detainment, tweeting that House Republicans had been “ready to grill him six ways to Sunday” on the failure of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
“Tomorrow, Sam Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee … Now breaking tonight, SBF was just arrested!” Zeldin wrote.
“Why not allow him to 1st testify tomorrow and answer our many questions?”
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who is chairwoman of the financial services committee, echoed those concerns, saying she was “disappointed” the arrest happened prior to Bankman-Fried’s testimony.
“Although Mr Bankman-Fried must be held accountable, the American public deserves to hear directly from Mr Bankman-Fried about the actions that’ve harmed over one million people, and wiped out the hard-earned life savings of so many,” Waters said in a statement.
