Ryan Pinder, the Bahamas’ Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that authorities had opened an “active and ongoing” investigation of the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The country’s Facebook page revealed a post from the Office of the Prime Minister that noted “civil and criminal authorities” were investigating the “affairs of FTX Digital Markets.” It added that they also collaborated with “a number of specialists and experts and will continue to do so as the need arises.”
Prime Minister Pinder said in his address: “The Securities Commission, our financial intelligence unit, and the financial crimes unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances regarding FTX’s insolvency crisis and any potential violations of Bahamian law.”
Continuing, he stated that authorities would hold accountable all involved entities guilty of committing offences and would work jointly with international regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies.
He concluded: “These events remind us of the lessons learned from securities and other financial regulation about the need for strong cross-border cooperation. The public worldwide will be best served by a strong international regulatory cooperation.”
The Bahamas Ramp Up Efforts on FTX Crisis
According to statements, the Bahamian Securities Commission terminated FTX’s business licences and ordered the firm to transfer all of its assets to a government cryptocurrency wallet for safekeeping.
The Prime Minister will also launch additional measures sanctioned by the Supreme Court in due course. He also blasted FTX Trading Limited as “extremely regrettable” after the latter accused the Government of “directing unauthorised access to the Debtors’ systems” amid its bankruptcy proceedings.
PM Pinder also encouraged continued investment in the cryptocurrency industry, stating there would be “little contagion beyond the digital asset sphere” in the Bahamas and globally.
In its statement, shortly after the crypto crisis unfolded with FTX, he said: “Based on the analysis and understanding of the FTX liquidity crisis to date, we have not identified any deficiencies in our regulatory framework that could have avoided this. In fact, it was because the Bahamas already had in place a regulatory framework for digital assets and digital asset businesses, that the regulator was able to take immediate steps in order to protect the interest of clients, creditors, and other stakeholders globally.”
