Brett Harrison, FTX’s former president of operations in the United States, slammed disgraced chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried for threatening colleagues.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Harrison slammed Bankman-Fried for verbally attacking the platform’s workforces that offered solutions for improving the firm’s US management.
He explained in the thread that, six months after working for FTX, “cracks began to form” in his relationship with the former CEO.
He initially believed that Bankman-Fried was a “sensitive and intellectually curious person.” He later stated he found “total insecurity and intransigence” after employees confronted the executive.
Further problems developed after Harrison recommended FTX US to establish separate branches for its teams.
He explained: “I saw in that early conflict his total insecurity and intransigence when his decisions were questioned, his spitefulness, and the volatility of his temperament. I realized he wasn’t who I remembered.”
He added he “wasn’t sure what accounted for the dramatic change,” adding that potential mental health issues could be a “contributing factor.”
Harrison continued, stating: “Sam was uncomfortable with conflict. He responded at times with dysregulated hostility, at times with gaslighting and manipulation, but ultimately chose to isolate me from communication on key decision-making.”
Additionally, Bankman-Fried allegedly threatened to “destroy [Harrison’s] professional reputation” if he failed to apologise formally. The verbal threat “solidified” Harrison’s decision to leave the firm.
He concluded: “I never could have guessed that underlying these kinds of issues — which I’d seen at other more mature firms in my career and believed not to be fatal to business success — was multi-billion-dollar fraud. If any one of us had suspected let alone learned the truth, we would have reported them immediately.”
Authorities slapped Bankman-Fried with eight criminal charges on 3 January after his arrest in the Bahamas. Following his extradition to the US, he posted a $250 million USD bail while pleading not guilty to charges.
According to recent news, FTX had spent $40 million on luxury hotels, catering, and other items just months before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
