NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper yesterday expressed confidence in the country’s financial services regulators and the laws governing the industry, suggesting that this nation would persevere and pivot from the FTX fallout.
Cooper was asked to comment on the collapse of FTX ahead of a Cabinet meeting.
“The Prime Minister will be speaking to the FTX matter,” he said.
“It is in his remit as Minister of Finance. It is a matter for the regulators. I can tell you that I am confident about the regulators. I am confident about the laws governing financial services in The Bahamas.”
Cooper continued: “We have had curve balls thrown at us before in financial services and we have persevered. We have pivoted in financial services many times and I expect that we are going to do likewise in the digital asset business. As it relates to the specifics, the regulator- the Securities Commission- is handling the matter and anything from the government will come from the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister.”
Cooper added: “We have a very good brand in the international community as it relates to financial services, as it relates to doing business in The Bahamas and I am confident that we are going to pivot appropriately and we will persevere.”
The Supreme Courton Monday approved Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as joint provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets. The Securities Commission of The Bahamas had applied to the Supreme Court to appoint Brian Simms, KC, as a court-supervised provisional liquidator on November 10.
In a statement, the commission said that it had acted, using its regulatory powers under the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2020 (DARE Act) to “further protect the interests of clients, creditors, and other stakeholders globally of FTX Digital Markets Ltd”. The commission said it recognized the need to move swiftly given the “magnitude, urgency, and international implications of the unfolding events with regard to FTX”.
The statement continued: “Over the coming days and weeks, the Commission expects to engage with other supervisory authorities on a regulator-to-regulator basis as this event is multi-jurisdictional in nature.
“The Commission is the lead authority in The Bahamas conducting the investigations into the events and parties, including, but not limited to, FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (a regulated entity), FTX Trading Ltd., Alameda Research Ltd. and other related entities whose centre of main interest, direction, and management were purportedly located in The Bahamas.”
It added: “The investigations into these events are ongoing, and the Commission will extend its full assistance to the police if and when required.”
A team of investigators from the Financial Crimes Investigation Branch is said to be working closely with the Bahamas Securities Commission to investigate potential criminal misconduct surrounding the collapse of the crypto-exchange FTX.
FTX Group announced on Friday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, along with the resignation of its 30-year-old founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
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