The disgraced former CEO of FTX recently alluded that he will not be willing to testify before the American congress, scheduled for December 13.
On Twitter, Bankman-Fried replied to a post by congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The post thanked SBF for appearing publicly in media venus to talk about his companies collapse. Furthermore, Waters invited the former FTX main director to a congress hearing to talk about the series of events that led to the company’s bankruptcy.
Recently, SBF appeared in several interviews, including in the New York Times.
After finding so much time to appear publicly in several venues, one would think that he would be more than willing to appear before congress in order to testify before elected representatives.
However, the former CEO does not appear to like that idea, at least for right now.
Answering to the congresswoman’s tweet, SBF claimed that he first needed to review what happened before attending the congress’ invitations.
“Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain,” SBF wrote in his Tweet. “I’m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify.”
SBF’s Refuses To Testify: Criticisms
The already much-criticized former billionaire received even more attention after refusing to appear in congress.
The general public feeling is that SBF’s not willingness to appear before congress is due to potential legal repercussions he might face for providing false claims before the American Government.
By committing perjury, SBF could face significant monetary fines, probation, jail time, and even issues with security clearances and lucrative work.
Jake Chervinsky, head of policy of the Blockchain Association claimed that “he doesn’t mind lying to Andrew Ross Sorkin or George Stephanopoulos, but lying to Congress under oath is less appealing.“
Despite Bankman-Fried’s recent refusal, it seems highly unlikely that the former CEO will not appear before congress throughout 2023.
Reports indicate that he is already on the crosshair for two federal investigations, from both the Bahamian and the American governments.
