Key Takeaways
- Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Agency will investigate people and institutions related to the platform: banks, electronic money institutions, and crypto-asset providers.
- US SEC, Justice Department, CFTC, and Royal Bahamas Police Force are all probing FTX following its collapse.
Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Agency is now the latest regulatory watchdog to probe Sam Bnakman Fried’s now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
As per the official statement, the Turkish authority will investigate people and institutions related to the platform, which banks, electronic money institutions, and crypto-asset providers. This can also include local subsidiary FTX Turkey, which is listed among 130 plus firms tied to FTX that have started proceedings to file for bankruptcy in the US on November 11.
Turkish regulatory watchdog is also monitoring FTX’s activities to see if they abide by the country’s Anti-Money Laundering laws. On its official social media accounts, FTX Turkey has also provided a Google Form for users seeking to receive their funds. FTX Turkey states are working on getting all customer funds returned.
“Even during the technical difficulties caused by FTX.com, the FTX TR [Turkey] team worked hard not to victimize the users by giving their best and continues to work. Sharing transparent information about the process from its social media accounts, we manage this process professionally and in a way that does not harm its users”, FTX Turkey stated.
Turkey is now one of the fastest-growing crypto markets, with its residents taking a keen interest in crypto and digital assets. According to Vedat Guven, a consultant who co-authored the book “Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin – Satoshi is Changing the World,” “There are 5.5-6 million Turks who hold a cryptocurrency account in the country, and if you include family members, this is something that interests around 10-12 million people”.
Apart from Turkish authorities, the United States and the Bahamas are also probing the bankrupt crypto exchange. The US Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are looking into how FTX handled customer funds as Alameda Research.
Authorities in The Bahamas, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, are investigating potential criminal misconduct following the sudden demise of FTX.
FTX’s bankruptcy filing followed a failed acquisition deal with Binance, and now the exchange is facing scrutiny from regulatory authorities over its handling of customer funds and crypto-lending activities.
