The Securities Commission of The Bahamas has issued a statement with respect to the motion by FTX Trading Ltd. and certain of its affiliates to transfer the venue of the Chapter 15 proceedings of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (FDM) that were commenced to assist the provisional liquidators appointed by the Supreme Court of The Bahamas in the discharge of their duties with respect to FDM.

FDM was incorporated in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on 22 July 2021; it was duly registered as a digital asset business under The Bahamas’ Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2020 (the “DARE Act”).

Pursuant to Bahamas law, on 10 November 2022, the Commission determined that the customers and creditors of FDM were in need of the protection of the DARE Act, and suspended FDM’s license to conduct business and subsequently filed a petition before the Bahamian Supreme Court to place FDM into provisional liquidation. This action – the first commenced globally against an FTX entity – placed FDM under the control of a court-appointed fiduciary and removed prior management from exercising any authority over FDM.

The Bahamas Commission warns that in the Chapter 11 filings, the new CEO of FTX Trading Ltd. Misrepresented its timely action through the intemperate and inaccurate allegations lodged in the Transfer Motion. It is also concerning, the Bahamian regulator says, that the Chapter 11 debtors chose to rely on the statements of individuals they have (in other filings) characterized as unreliable sources of information and potentially “seriously compromised.”

The Commission says it will continue to evaluate the situation, continue to act in accordance with directions issued by the Supreme Court of The Bahamas, collaborate with other supervisory authorities and take such further actions as needed to preserve the assets of FDM and to safeguard the interests of customers and creditors of FDM.

In addition, the Commission will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances regarding FTX’s liquidity crisis and any potential violations of Bahamian law and hold any responsible companies and individuals accountable, in cooperation with other regulatory agencies and law enforcement both in The Bahamas and in other affected countries in connection with their own investigations.

The Commission also looks forward to continuing to cooperate with the authorities in other jurisdictions to ensure the cooperative and vigorous resolution of all necessary proceedings to effectuate those ends.