The founder and chief executive of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried met Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Rostin Behnam and other high-level agency officials 10 times over the past 14 months.
There were also follow-up calls and an exchange of messages, Mr Behnam told the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Before the Senate hearing, the Washington-headquartered CFTC had declined to disclose how many times Mr Behnam had met Mr Bankman-Fried.
Mr Behnam said the meetings were focused on FTX’s efforts to amend and approve the clearinghouse licence for its derivatives exchange, LedgerX.
The petition for amendment, which was filed about a year ago, aimed to let LedgerX settle margined trades without the involvement of intermediaries.
The proposal was still awaiting approval when FTX filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
“My team and I met with Mr Bankman-Fried and his team. Over the past 14 months, we met 10 times in the CFTC office at their request, all in relation to this … clearinghouse application,” Mr Behnam said.
FTX purchased LedgerX last year and it is overseen by the CFTC.
Since 2017, LedgerX has been registered with the CFTC as a designated contract market, swap execution facility and derivatives clearing organisation.
“LedgerX is one of the few FTX entities to not file for bankruptcy,” Mr Behnam said.
“The CFTC has been in near daily contact with LedgerX as well as the third-party custodians it uses to hold cash and digital assets.
“Based on the information presented to us at this time, LedgerX customer property remains secure and LedgerX has the financial resources to continue operating for the foreseeable future.”
The CFTC said its regulations require that LedgerX be completely walled off from the other unregulated FTX entities to protect customer property.
As part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, FTX has reported that LedgerX holds more cash than all the other FTX debtor entities combined.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the US on November 11 in the highest-profile cryptocurrency exchange failure to date, after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform over the course of three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal, Reuters reported.
Mr Bankman-Fried, who cofounded FTX with Gary Wang and Nishad Singh in 2019, also resigned as chief executive after discussions with his father, Joseph Bankman of Stanford Law School, and his lawyers, the company’s 30-page bankruptcy filing showed.
Mr Behnam said the CFTC lacked the direct authority to write rules and oversee this marketplace and it may only reach it when fraud or manipulation has already occurred.
Founded in 1975, the mission of the CFTC is to promote the integrity, resilience and vibrancy of the US derivatives markets through sound regulation, it said on its website.
Book%20Details
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
British Grand Prix free practice times in the third and final session at Silverstone on Saturday (top five):
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:28.063 (18 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:28.095 (14)
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:28.137 (20)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:28.732 (15)
5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:29.480 (14)
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Company%20profile
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
