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      Five things we know about the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried

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      ExplainerFive things we know about the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-FriedCompany founder was arrested and charged with running a ‘house of cards’ in ‘one of the biggest financial frauds in US history’ It has been another crazy 48 hours in the collapse of FTX, once the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.On Monday, the company’s now-infamous founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested in the Bahamas, a day before he was set to give testimony before Congress. On Tuesday US authorities issued damning charges that the 30-year-old former billionaire ran a “house of cards” and was behind “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.Lawmakers went ahead with the hearing without Bankman-Fried, who was otherwise occupied, in what looks set to be a series of heated hearings about the collapse.Here are five things we learned about FTX after two days of whirlwind of events.1. What happened at FTX appears to be ‘old-school fraud’While FTX was billed as a behemoth of cryptocurrency, with all the technical complexities that implies, officials on Tuesday alleged that FTX’s downfall is a classic case of fraud.Republican representative and incoming House finance committee chair Patrick McHenry said in Tuesday’s hearing that FTX appears to be “old school fraud, just using new technology”.In a statement, Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which charged Bankman-Fried of fraud against investors, echoed this sentiment by saying Bankman-Fried “built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto.“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy,” he said. “But we allege in our complaint that the veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent.”John Ray III, FTX’s current CEO who was brought in to restructure the company, called it “really old-fashioned embezzlement” when testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.When asked to contrast the liquidation of Enron in the early 2000s, which Ray oversaw, he said the crimes of the former energy giant were “highly orchestrated financial machinations by highly sophisticated people to keep transactions off balance sheets”.FTX, in contrast, was “just taking money from customers, and using it for your own purpose,” he said. “Not sophisticated at all.”2. Little is known about where all the money wentRay told lawmakers that there is an “excess of $7bn” in lost FTX funds from 7.6m accounts, with 2.7m based in the US. It is unclear exactly how much money is lost.“There were no corporate controls, no corporate oversight, no independent board,” he said. “The owners, business and senior management had virtual control of all the accounts and could move money or assets as they desired, undetected by customers.”Ray said he had “never seen such an utter lack of record keeping” and there were “absolutely no internal control whatsoever”. FTX – which helped Bankman-Fried amass a personal fortune once valued at $26bn – used QuickBooks to manage its finances. “QuickBooks, very nice tool, not for a multibillion-dollar company,” Ray said.3. Prosecutors believe Bankman-Fried was lying from the beginningWhile Bankman-Fried built a reputation off his philosophy of effective altruism, saying he wanted to use his wealth to make a major positive impact on the world, prosecutors are alleging that Bankman-Fried was defrauding investors since he founded FTX in 2019.“Bankman-Fried was orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire,” the SEC said in its complaint.The complaint describes how Bankman-Fried postured himself as a “responsible leader of the crypto community” and “touted the importance of regulation and accountability”.“But from the start, Bankman-Fried improperly diverted customer assets to his privately-held crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC, and then used those customer funds to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations,” the complaint reads.4. What’s next for Bankman-Fried?The criminal indictment that led to Bankman-Fried’s arrest was unsealed on Tuesday, revealing exactly what charges federal prosecutors have charged him with.Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal counts, including wire fraud on customers and lenders, conspiracies to commit wire fraud on customers and lenders and conspiracies to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.Bankman-Fried could face hefty prison time for the charges but legal experts say it is too early to say yet what sentence he will receive if convicted. Sentencing in white-collar crime is highly influenced by the scale of the fraud, said Duncan Levin, managing partner at Levin & Associates and a former federal prosecutor. Given that FTX’s losses “seem to be close to $2bn, that could drive sentencing to the absolute max,” he said.But at the moment, said Levin, it’s hard to say whether if convicted Bankman-Fried is facing an “Elizabeth Holmes [11 years] or a Bernie Madoff [150 years]”.5. Prosecutors are likely closing in on Bankman-Fried’s inner circle – and the scandal is spreadingThough Bankman-Fried is the only FTX associate who has been charged, US authorities are investigating others who were involved with the company.At a press conference Damian Williams, United States attorney for the southern district of New York, said this was only the beginning. “This investigation is very much ongoing,” he said. “We are not done.” Officials advised anyone involved in the alleged fraud “to come to us before we come to you”.But while US authorities are after FTX insiders, Washington faces its own reckoning. Bankman-Fried and his peers gave millions to politicians of both sides in the hope of steering crypto regulation. The political fallout of FTX’s collapse looks set to be one of the big stories of 2023.TopicsSam Bankman-FriedFTXCryptocurrenciesUS politicsexplainersReuse this content More

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      US adds 263,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate stays at 3.7%

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      US adds 263,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate stays at 3.7%Jobs market remains strong even as Fed imposes biggest series of rate rises in decades in effort to tame inflation The US added 263,000 jobs in November, the labor department announced on Friday, another strong month of jobs growth. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, close to a 50-year low.Employers hired 284,000 new positions in October and 269,000 in September and the latest figures show hiring has remained resilient despite rising interest rates and the announcement of a series of layoffs at technology and real estate companies.The jobs market has remained strong even as the Federal Reserve has imposed the biggest series of rate rises in decades in its fight to tame inflation. This week, the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, indicated that the continuing strength of the jobs market – and rising wages – were likely to trigger more rate rises in the coming months.The US had been expected to add 200,000 jobs in November. The latest jobs numbers – the last before the Fed meets to decide its next move later this month – will strengthen the central bank’s resolve to keep raising rates.“This phenomenal labor market is showing little sign of slowdown,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president and chief commercial officer of ManpowerGroup. “Despite recurring headlines of deep cutbacks – primarily in tech – other sectors have scaled up; and while we’ve been bracing for a downturn, the broader labor market has barely flinched.”Economists expect rate hikes will eventually dampen hiring, potentially leading to a recession and job losses next year. But so far, the jobs market has shaken off the Fed’s interventions.The government figures follow a downbeat report from ADP, the US’s largest payroll supplier. On Wednesday, ADP said the private sector had added just 127,000 positions for the month, well below the 190,000 forecast by economists and a steep reduction from the 239,000 jobs ADP recorded in October.ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, said it was still too early to say but it seemed the rate rises were filtering through to hiring decisions.“Turning points can be hard to capture in the labor market, but our data suggest that Federal Reserve tightening is having an impact on job creation and pay gains,” said Richardson. “In addition, companies are no longer in hyper-replacement mode. Fewer people are quitting and the post-pandemic recovery is stabilizing.”TopicsUS unemployment and employment dataUS economyFederal ReserveUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Senate moves quickly to avert US rail strike by passing key bill

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      Senate moves quickly to avert US rail strike by passing key billBill goes to Biden’s desk for his signature after legislation that binds rail firms and workers to settlement plan passes 80-15 The Senate moved quickly on Thursday to avert a rail strike that the Biden administration and business leaders warned would have had devastating consequences for the nation’s economy.The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders in September. That settlement had been rejected by some of the 12 unions involved, creating the possibility of a strike beginning 9 December.The Senate vote was 80-15. It came one day after the House voted to impose the agreement. The measure now goes to Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.“I’m very glad that the two sides got together to avoid a shutdown, which would have been devastating for the American people, to the American economy and so many workers across the country,” the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters.Schumer spoke as the labor secretary, Marty Walsh, and transport secretary, Pete Buttigieg, emphasized to Democratic senators that rail companies would begin shutting down operations well before a potential strike would begin. The administration wanted the bill on Biden’s desk by the weekend.Shortly before Thursday’s votes, Biden – who had urged Congress to intervene earlier this week – defended the contract that four of the unions had rejected, noting the wage increases it contains.“I negotiated a contract no one else could negotiate,” Biden said at a news briefing with Emmanuel Macron, the French president. “What was negotiated was so much better than anything they ever had.”Critics say the contract that did not receive backing from enough union members lacked sufficient levels of paid leave for rail workers. Biden said he wanted paid leave for “everybody” so that it wouldn’t have to be negotiated in employment contracts, but Republican lawmakers have blocked measures to require time off work for medical and family reasons.The US president said that Congress should now impose the contract to avoid a strike that Biden said could cause 750,000 job losses and a recession.Senators also voted on Thursday on a measure, passed in the House on Wednesday along party lines, that would provide seven days of paid sick leave to railroad workers.It fell eight votes short of a 60-vote threshold needed for passage in the Senate.The rail companies and unions have been engaged in high-stakes negotiations. The Biden administration helped broker deals in September but four of the unions rejected them. Eight others approved five-year deals and are getting back pay for their workers for 24% raises retroactive to 2020.The unions maintain that railroads can easily afford to add paid sick time when they are recording record profits. Several of the big railroads involved in these contract talks reported more than $1bn profit in the third quarter.TopicsUS SenateUS CongressRail industryRail transportUS economyUS politicsJoe BidennewsReuse this content More

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      US House approves bill to block rail strike and mandate paid sick leave

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      US House approves bill to block rail strike and mandate paid sick leaveLawmakers vote to impose tentative contract deal on a dozen unions as Bernie Sanders calls for sick-day amendment The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve a bill to block a potentially crippling US rail strike – but also to mandate paid sick time for the workers.In the US Senate, Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, announced that he would object to fast-tracking Joe Biden’s proposal that Congress impose an industrial settlement, until he can get a roll-call vote on the amendment that would guarantee seven paid sick days for rail workers.The House voted 290-137 to impose a tentative contract deal that had been reached in September, but which four key unions had refused to join, on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers.The US president, who built a reputation on being pro-labor and put himself at loggerheads with the unions after asking Congress to avert a strike, had warned of the catastrophic impact of a rail stoppage that could begin as early as 9 December and could cost the US economy about $2bn a day by some estimates, with chaos hitting freight and passenger traffic.On Tuesday, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, indicated they would attempt to push through a bill to impose the settlement, albeit expressing reluctance.Workers expressed dismay at the stance of Biden and his administration.‘Joe Biden blew it’: rail unions decry plan to impose deal through CongressRead moreOn Wednesday, the House passed the bill to block the strike and, separately, voted 221-207 to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees, a plan that faces an uncertain fate in the evenly split Senate. Democrats and some Republicans have expressed outrage over the lack of paid short-term sick leave for railroad workers.“We know much more needs to be done for railroad workers,” Pelosi said ahead of the votes. “No one should be at risk of losing his or her job by staying home when sick, needing to see a doctor or getting lifesaving surgery.”A rail strike could freeze almost 30% of US cargo shipments by weight, stoke already surging inflation, cause widespread job losses and strand millions of long-distance Amtrak passengers and commuter rail services.After the vote, Biden called on the Senate to act “urgently”.“Without the certainty of a final vote to avoid a shutdown this week, railroads will begin to halt the movement of critical materials like chemicals to clean our drinking water as soon as this weekend,” he said in a statement.Asked if Biden supported the separate House measure to require sick leave, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that the president broadly supported paid sick leave for all Americans “but he does not support any bill or amendment that would delay getting this bill to his desk”.Railroad companies and the US Chamber of Commerce oppose amending the contract deal that was struck in September largely on the recommendations of an emergency board appointed by Biden.The influential business lobby group said the sick leave, if passed and signed into law, “would impose an unworkable, one-sided modification to a labor agreement”.Biden on Monday praised the proposed contract that includes a 24% compounded pay increase over five years and five annual $1,000 lump-sum payments, and had asked Congress to impose the agreement without any modifications.There are no paid short-term sick days under the tentative deal, after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day.“This all could have been avoided had the railroads been willing to provide their employees with a basic protection and what so many Americans already have: paid sick time,” the House transportation committee chair, Peter DeFazio, said.Ian Jefferies, chief executive of the Association of American Railroads, said House action on sick leave could undermine future collective bargaining and argued the unions had historically bargained for higher overall wages and a more generous long-term leave policy.The contracts cover workers at carriers including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway’s BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern Corp and Kansas City Southern.The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, and labor secretary, Marty Walsh, are expected to speak to Senate Democrats on Thursday about the rail labor issue.TopicsHouse of RepresentativesUS CongressJoe BidenUS politicsRail industrynewsReuse this content More

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      FTX billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried funneled dark money to Republicans

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      FTX billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried funneled dark money to RepublicansThe crypto entrepreneur was thought to be a big donor to Democrats but now acknowledges he gave equally to GOP The fall of crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried has been painted as a big blow to the Democratic party, whose candidates were major beneficiaries of his largesse. But in a new interview, Bankman-Fried has claimed he gave equally large amounts of money to Republicans.“I donated to both parties. I donated about the same amount to both parties,” Bankman-Fried told the crypto commentator and citizen journalist Tiffany Fong.“All my Republican donations were dark,” he said, referring to political donations that are not publicly disclosed. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it’s because reporters freak the fuck out if you donate to Republicans. They’re all super liberal, and I didn’t want to have that fight.”Bankman-Fried’s undisclosed donations were made possible by the supreme court’s 2010 decision in the Citizen’s United case, which allowed donors to give anonymously and has led to more than $1bn being poured into federal elections since 2010.The revelation comes as a political battle over the collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, is shaping up in Washington.Bankman-Fried was the second-largest donor to Democratic politicians in the last election cycle. The Republican senator Ted Cruz has called FTX “a Bernie Madoff style fraud that cost investors BILLIONS”.“Will Joe Biden and Democrats who cashed Bankman-Fried’s checks give that money to the people SBF screwed?” he wrote on Twitter earlier this month.On Thursday the Senate will hold the first in what is expected to be a series of hearings into FTX’s collapse, with Republicans keen to hold Democrats responsible for a lack of oversight before its collapse.Public data shows that some parts of Bankman-Fried’s empire gave equally to both parties. Data from OpenSecrets, a non-profit that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying, shows FTX US, the company’s US operation, gave equally to both parties.But Bankman-Fried’s public donations went largely to Democrats. The FTX founder gave more than $990,000 to candidates in the last election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, and another $38.8m to outside groups. Only about $235,000 of his public political giving went toward Republican candidates.The money helped Bankman-Fried position himself as an influential voice in crypto regulation in Washington. In February he testified before the same Senate agricultural committee that will hold the first hearing into FTX’s collapse this Thursday.At the February hearing, Bankman-Fried argued for clarity in regulating the crypto market and outlined “FTX’s key principles for ensuring investor protections.” They included:● Maintaining adequate liquid resources to ensure the platform can return the customer’s assets upon request;● Ensuring the environment where customer assets are custodied, including digital wallets, are kept secure; and● Ensuring appropriate bookkeeping or ledgering of assets and disclosures to protect against misuse or misallocation of customer assets.Bankman-Fried was ousted after the company filed for bankruptcy. The new chief executive, John Ray III, who has overseen some of the biggest bankruptcies ever, including the collapse of the energy giant Enron, said FTX suffered an “unprecedented and complete failure of corporate controls”.According to FTX’s new management, a “substantial portion” of assets held by FTX may be “missing or stolen” and the company did not even keep accurate records of who worked there.TopicsCryptocurrenciesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More