Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has come under fire from two members of the United States House Committee on Financial Services “regarding the timing of charges brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman -Fried”. This criticism is based on the fact that Mr. Gensler will appear at a hearing.

Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bill Huizenga said in a notice dated February 10 that the timing of the bank charges against Fried’s and the arrest in the Bahamas raised “serious doubts about the SEC’s decision. prosecution and cooperation with the Department of Justice.” The two congressmen requested that Gensler release documents and correspondence related to the SBF allegations that were exchanged between November 2 and February 9 from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, his office and between the agency and the Department of Justice during that time period.

On December 13, the House Financial Services Committee was set to hold a hearing to investigate the failure of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and Bankman-Fried was set to speak before the committee. On the other hand, the former CEO of FTX was arrested in the Bahamas pursuant to an extradition agreement with the United States of America. The Justice Department has filed eight criminal charges against Bankman-Fried, one of which is for wire fraud. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have filed separate civil lawsuits against the former chief executive.

In a tweet sent on February 10, Huizenga said: “Since Gary Gensler will not follow his own ‘get in and talk’ policies, the House GOP will hold him accountable.”

McHenry and Huizenga requested that Gensler provide the material no later than February 23. This week, the SEC chairman came under an increased level of scrutiny as a result of the agency’s announcement of a settlement with Kraken, in which the exchange agreed to stop providing services or engagement programs to clients in the United States.

FTX CEO John Ray was the only witness at the December hearing as Bankman-Fried was unable to attend. However, the Senate Banking Committee held its own hearing on December 14 to investigate the “bubble burst” that occurred with FTX. On February 14, there will be a new hearing on the 2022 “crypto crash” that has been planned by the banking committee.