Rep. Torres asks US GAO to investigate SEC ‘failure’ to protect public against FTX
An American legislator has asked the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) to look into the performance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the recently failed crypto exchange FTX.
Rep. Ritchie Torres wrote to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro on Dec. 6 requesting that the GAO, the federal legislative watchdog, conduct a review of the SEC’s failure to protect the public from “the egregious mismanagement and malfeasance of FTX.” The strongly worded letter also criticized chairman Gary Gensler’s leadership in general. Torres wrote:
Aside from that passage, Torres’ letter was almost completely devoted to a critique of SEC chair Gensler, who “by the logic of his own public pronouncements, is singularly responsible for regulatory failures surrounding the collapse of FTX and its affiliate FX US.” Addressing Gensler’s insistence that the majority of cryptocurrencies are securities and therefore subject to SEC regulation, Torres asked rhetorically:
NEW this morning — Rep. @RitchieTorres (D-NY) calls on the Government Accountability Office (@USGAO) to investigate the SEC’s “failure to protect the investing public from the egregious mismanagement and malfeasance of @FTX_Official” pic.twitter.com/BdT7ZVCM7X
Torres, like Gensler, is a Democrat who represents the South Bronx in New York City. He is a vocal proponent of cryptocurrency. Ironically, he cosigned a bipartisan letter headed up by Rep. Tom Emmer questioning the SEC’s authority to seek information from crypto companies in March. Emmer has also questioned Gensler’s oversight in the wake of the FTX collapse.
Related: Will SBF face consequences for mismanaging FTX? Don’t count on it
On Dec. 2, Torres introduced bills to the House of
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