Congressman Tom Emmer believes the FTX’s sudden collapse is not the fault of the company or crypto but that of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, and centralised finance (CeFi).

In a recent interview with Fox Business, the U.S. lawmaker also attributed FTX’s collapse to business ethics, government oversight, and regulatory procedures.

Emmer Highlights Gensler’s Role in FTX Collapse

Speaking on Gensler’s role in FTX’s downfall, the Minnesota Representative pointed out a meeting that the SEC chair had with SBF and other FTX executives in March.

“They were working with Sam Bankman-Fried and others to give them special treatment from the SEC that others aren’t getting,” Emmer said, adding that his office is also looking into the matter.

The congressman also criticised the SEC for not scrutinising bad actors in the industry. He rhetorically asked what the SEC was doing when crypto projects like Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and Terra collapsed this year.

He noted that the SEC was busy working on backroom deals with bad actors and going after the good ones in the community.

“We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to understand why Gary Gensler and the SEC were not doing their job. We need to understand how this was allowed to get to the point where people and their savings are getting hurt. That’s exactly what the regulator’s supposed to be taking care of,” the lawmaker said.

Emmer also alleged that SBF was pushing for “special treatment legislation through Congress,” and when it was finally revealed, the industry started raising red flags.

Emmer Criticises New York Times Coverage on SBF

During the interview, the lawmaker also criticised the mainstream media, the New York Times (NYT), for writing a “puff piece” on SBF within the past week.

He stated that he does not understand why the news media would write a puff article on someone who mismanaged users’ funds, causing millions of investors to lose their life savings.

（By William A. Frederick）