FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried says he didn’t see the warning signs leading to the company’s demise

FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says he expanded his business too quickly and didn’t see the signs of trouble at the exchange its demise has created shock wave in the crypto industry, the New York Times reported late Monday. “If I were a little more focused on what I’m doing, I would be able to be more thorough,” Bankman-Fried said in an interview with the newspaper. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Friday, one of the most famous crypto booms, after traders rushed to withdraw $6 billion (about Rs 488) from the platform in just 72 hours and the exchange Rival exchange Binance has reneged on a proposed rescue deal.

United States Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is currently investigating how FTX a source told Reuters.

Bankman-Fried, who is based in the Bahamas, declined to comment on his current location, citing safety concerns, the newspaper said.

When asked if FTX would use client funds to support the trading firm Alameda Research he founded, Bankman-Fried told the New York Times that Alameda had amassed a large “margin position” on FTX.

“It’s basically bigger than I thought,” he said, adding without providing details that the size of the location is in the billions.

Reuters reported last week that Bankman-Fried had secretly transferred $10 billion (approximately Rs 81,360) in customer funds from FTX to Alameda.

A large portion of that total is since disappeared, according to a Reuters report. One source said the missing amount is around $1.7 billion (nearly Rs 13,700). The other said the gap is between $1 billion and $2 billion (nearly Rs 16,100).

The financial vulnerability was disclosed in a filing that Bankman-Fried shared with other senior executives last Sunday, according to two sources. They say the records provide an up-to-date account of the situation at the time. Both sources hold senior positions at FTX until this week and said they were briefed by top employees on the company’s financial position.

© Thomson Reuters 2022