FTX bankruptcy: I’ll do anything to pay back investors, says Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, former chief executive officer (CEO) of FTX, says he would do anything — including starting a new business — “to help victims” of the company’s collapse.

The young CEO had resigned after FTX filed for bankruptcy amid its liquidity crisis.

His resignation also followed Binance’s decision to pull out of a deal to acquire the cryptocurrency exchange platform, after a review of the company’s finances found that FTX mishandled investors’ funds.

In an interview with BBC in Bahamas, Bankman-Fried said he hoped to find a way to pay back FTX users.

He also said he was considering starting a new business venture to earn money and pay investors.

“I’m going to be thinking about how we can help the world and if users haven’t gotten much back, I’m going to be thinking about what I can do for them. And I think at the very least I have a duty to FTX users to do right by them as best as I can,” he said.

“I would give anything to be able to do that. And I’m going to try if I can.”

Speaking further, Bankman-Fried denied fraud allegations but said he was “not nearly as competent as I thought I was”.

He also admitted to worrying about possible arrest while “ruminating at night”.

FTX was an exchange platform that investors around the world used to trade cryptocurrency for other assets, including other digital currencies or cash.

Investors could also store their cryptocurrencies in digital wallets, similar to using a bank.

Last month, the FTX Group, which includes the FTX.com entity as well as FTX US, Alameda Research, and approximately 130 additional affiliated firms commenced voluntary “chapter 11 proceedings”.

Chapter 11 is a form of bankruptcy that involves a reorganisation of a debtor’s business affairs, debts, and assets, and for that reason is known as “reorganisation” bankruptcy.

It allows a company to stay in business and restructure its obligations.

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried said he would be testifying before the congress — house committee on financial services — about the FTX collapse on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

He had disclosed this on his Twitter page on Friday.

“I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal.  So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like,” Bankman-Fried had tweeted.

“But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.”