FTX CEO testifies on 'pure hell' post-bankruptcy days at exchange

John Ray, who took implicit arsenic main enforcement serviceman of crypto speech FTX, has described immoderate of the chaotic experiences astatine the steadfast pursuing the institution declaring bankruptcy.

In grounds for FTX’s lawsuit successful the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware connected Feb. 6, Ray said helium and different professionals had “carefully” been conducting an probe into FTX’s activities, owed to the institution having nary carnal office. The FTX CEO seemed to beryllium pushing backmost against a question to delegate an autarkic examiner to the bankruptcy case, claiming that “inadvertent errors” could effect successful “hundreds of millions of dollars of value” destroyed.

According to Ray, erstwhile helium took power of FTX successful November 2022, determination was “not a azygous database of anything” related to slope accounts, income, insurance, oregon personnel, causing a “massive scramble for information”. The FTX CEO said the aforesaid time helium helped record a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, determination were aggregate attempts to bargain crypto, resulting successful information experts and liquidators moving rapidly to unafraid funds.

“Your mean archetypal time petition is chaotic arsenic sometimes tin beryllium — this was thing that I person ne'er experienced,” said Ray. “Those hacks went connected virtually each nighttime agelong [...] It was truly 48 hours of what I tin lone picture arsenic axenic hell.”

The FTX CEO claimed helium had had nary transportation with erstwhile executives astatine the speech including Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and erstwhile CEO Sam Bankman-Fried oregon his parents anterior to taking power of the company. According to Ray, anyone “that was successful a power position” nether Bankman-Fried nary longer had immoderate authorization to nonstop FTX institution actions.

Ray’s grounds came amid a question from the Office of the U.S. Trustee arguing the tribunal should name an autarkic examiner who would merchandise a nationalist study providing transparency into the bankruptcy proceedings. Juliet Sarkessian, representing the U.S. Trustee’s office, suggested that though Ray had nary transportation to Bankman-Fried anterior to his taking implicit arsenic CEO, the assignment of an examiner was inactive successful the nationalist interest.

Related: Justice Dept defends question to barroom SBF from accessing FTX, Alameda assets

FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing arsenic debtors and funny parties volition marque motions implicit the firm’s assets, analyse the company, and merchandise accusation perchance affecting Bankman-Fried’s transgression case. The ineligible squad representing FTX debtors requested the issuance of subpoenas for accusation and documents from Bankman-Fried’s contiguous household connected Feb. 1.

At the clip of publication, Judge John Dorsey had not ruled connected the question for an examiner. This communicative is processing and whitethorn beryllium updated.