The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a complaint that FTX is hiring New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, citing conflicts of interest in its past business, in a January 13 legal filing. The complaint echoes the one filed by members of the United States Senate against the founder of the crypto exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, and expressed concern that the company may be stepping on the toes of the investigator’s work to do in ‘the future. independent.

“The S&C’s declaration as filed is insufficient to determine whether the S&C meets the non-dispute and disinterested standards of the Bankruptcy Code,” said Superintendent Andrew Vara, the Justice Department’s official in charge of bankruptcy matters. “An incomplete statement is sufficient on its own to reject the application.”

Vara added, “Any investigation by the S&C would be futile and a waste of resources if the Court were to allow the pending US trustee to appoint an investigator with full investigative powers.” .”

FTX general counsel Ryne Miller worked at S&C for eight years, Vara said, and the law firm could find itself in the “adversarial position” of investigating both itself and its former employer. Keeping the law firm “is important and for the benefit of the debtors, their land and those involved,” John Ray, who was called the president of FTX in Nov. 11, said in a statement. 21 testimony. “S&C is one of the world’s leading law firms in all practice areas.”

In a blog post on Thursday, Bankman-Fried said that S&C’s relationship with FTX before its collapse was more than a business one, and that its employees prompted it to file for bankruptcy on Nov. 1. 11 – expressing concern about the independence of the legal institutions expressed by the legislature in the letter of Jan. 10. Judge John Dorsey told the court on January 11 that the letter, calling for the appointment of an independent investigator in the case, was an improper intervention. Attorneys for S&C did not immediately respond to requests for comment.