On May 28, 2022, nearly six months before FTX filed for bankruptcy and SBF resigned as CEO, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg received an invitation to meet with SBF on June 13, 2022, the Washington Examiner reported. The email was relayed by former CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen, who joined FTX US as head of policy and regulatory strategy in November 2021.
In the latter half of the email, Wetjen told Gruenberg that FTX is in the “unusual position of asking the federal government to regulate us.” He further added:
“We have an application to the CFTC that sets out for the agency how to do it. All the CFTC has to do is approve it. Once the CFTC does that, the others will follow — the other major US exchanges have the CFTC as well – licenses.”
In response to SBF’s request, Gruenberg agreed to meet with the duo, as shown in the leaked email below.
After the collapse of FTX, SBF’s political ties were exposed during parallel investigations. An FDIC spokesman confirmed that the FDIC chairman met with SBF as part of “routine courtesy visits with leaders of financial firms and institutions.”
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Along with federal investigations, FTX’s new management began conducting internal investigations to trace missing funds.
Recent court documents revealed that SBF and five other former FTX and Alameda Research executives received $3.2 billion in payments and loans from FTX-affiliated entities. SBF reportedly received the lion’s share of the funds, receiving $2.2 billion.