The 30-year-old SBF is the subject of numerous federal inquiries into the financial management of his former company. The former billionaire says he was “not nearly as competent as I thought I was” but denies fraud while speaking in a luxury complex in the Bahamas.
However, it was discovered last month that FTX and SBF’s separate businesses, Alameda Research, were both in financial trouble. Everything fell apart in just eight days, and bankruptcy papers were filed.
A million and more FTX users are reportedly unable to access their funds stored on the crypto exchange.
SBF hopes to pay back FTX users
Mr. Bankman-Fried extended an invitation to the BBC to his current residence in the Bahamas and said he hoped to find a way to make FTX users whole.
“I’m going to be thinking about how we can help the world and if users haven’t gotten much back, I’m going to be thinking about what I can do for them. And I think at the very least I have a duty to FTX users to do right by them as best as I can.”
SBF
When asked if he intended to launch a new business to generate the funds needed to repay investors, he replied: “To be able to do that, I would do anything. And I’ll make an effort if I can.”
The FTX scandal has been referred to as “one of the most abrupt and difficult collapses in the history of corporate America” by bankruptcy attorneys. They claim that Mr. Bankman-Fried has treated the business like “his own personal fiefdom.”
The former CEO agreed on Friday to appear at the hearings into the collapsed exchange that the US Senate Banking Committee has requested he testify at next week.
His team claims that due to “security concerns,” they were forced to move to an undisclosed location within the opulent resort where he resides.
Telephoto reporters have captured images of him in his apartment from the water, and at least two YouTubers have gained entry to the building to record videos.
With no exposure to his bank accounts and “less than $100K left,” Mr. Bankman-Fried, who emerges from a wealthy family, asserts to be worried about his own personal finances.