Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen.John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sen.Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) have questioned cryptocurrency-friendly bank Silvergate Capital Corp (NYSE: SI) about its possible involvement in enabling transfers between the now-bankrupt FTX (CRYPTO: FTT) and its sister company, Alameda Research.
What Happened: After FTX declared bankruptcy, allegations were made that its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, had moved considerable amounts of customers' money from the trading platform to Alameda, a firm that he owned.
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The query from the legislators in a letter on Monday comes when the investment world is dubious about Silvergate's participation in this action.
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According to a bankruptcy filing, approximately 20 distinct accounts were maintained by FTX and its associated entities as a part of Bankman-Fried's crypto domain.
The letter said, “Bankman-Fried secretly transferred some $10 billion of customer funds to his trading vehicle, Alameda Research to fund ‘risky bets,’ violating both U.S. securities laws and FTX’s own terms of service.”
It added, "We are concerned about Silvergate’s role in these activities because of reports suggesting that Silvergate facilitated the transfer of FTX customer funds to Alameda."
The bank has until Dec. 19 to officially respond to the senators.
Silvergate did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s query.
Price Action: Silvergate shares have dropped over 50% since the FTX collapse, and on Tuesday morning, depreciated an additional 6.15%, hitting a fresh 52-week minimum, trading at $23.10, according to data from Benzinga Pro.