Its sister trading house Alameda Research, which allegedly received unfettered access to FTX customer assets to fund its bets, had such poor recordkeeping that Bankman-Fried told staff members its books were “unauditable,” according to communications published by the group’s new management. Occasionally the firm would find $50 million in assets “lying around that we lost track of,” Bankman-Fried said. Now the former CEO stands accused of fraud, money laundering and bribing Chinese officials — among other charges — while investors and customers are left nursing billions of dollars in losses.
The lack of effective corporate governance and due diligence conducted on FTX’s books raised eyebrows around the world. But for crypto industry watchers, it’s not an unfamiliar tale.
Bloomberg News surveyed 60 major crypto companies in the first quarter — spanning the breadth of exchanges, mining companies, analytics businesses and token issuers — to gauge the state of governance and controls in the sector. Many of these companies, which include the likes of Binance, Coinbase Global Inc., Tether and OpenSea, oversee the flow of tens of billions of dollars in assets daily. And while a fair number do adhere to traditional standards, many operate outside the norm.
Source: Some Popular Crypto Companies Lack Boards, Audits Despite FTX’s Fall – Bloomberg
