The arrest of crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried dragged his parents along. They are accused of co-receiving money from FTX, a crypto exchange company owned by Bankman that went bankrupt and embezzled clients' funds.
Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, both professors at Stanford University, recently attended their son's extradition hearing in the Bahamas. During the trial, their strange behavior raises questions.
As we quote from the New York Post, at the same time about 1,000 miles away on Capitol Hill, United States, new FTX CEO John Ray revealed during shocking testimony that he was investigating the role of Bankman's parents in the fall of FTX.
Joseph Bankman, who receives payments from FTX and is reportedly heavily involved in its operations, was seen sporadically plugging his ears during the trial "as if to drown out the sound of the proceedings", CoinDesk reported.
As for Barbara Fried, she seemed to have underestimated the court's mention of Bankman-Fried as a fugitive and she laughed several times. At that trial, Bankman failed to obtain bail and remains in prison in the Bahamas.
On the other hand, during his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Ray confirmed that the Bankman had provided 'legal advice' to his son at FTX and received cash payments from the company.
"I don't know if he's actually an employee, but he definitely gets paid, the family does," Ray said.
Property records obtained by Reuters showed FTX had purchased a $16.4 million luxury beachfront property in the Bahamas on behalf of Bankman's parents, which was intended as a vacation home.