The communications director for Prime Minister Philip Davis acknowledged last night that a September 4, 2022 email in which Davis asked FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to connect with his son to discuss a possible business arrangement is authentic, but the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), responding to a press inquiry sent by The Nassau Guardian, said Christopher Davis did not receive any funding as a result of the meeting.Bankman-Fried, who is accused of defrauding his customers out of nearly $10 billion, was grilled this week in a New York court over his “cozy relationship” with members of the Bahamas government.The FTX cryptocurrency exchange had been based in The Bahamas until its dramatic collapse nearly a year ago.During cross examination, US Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon asked Bankman-Fried whether he offered Davis’ son a job.
Bankman-Fried, who is widely known as SBF, reportedly said he “offered to have a talk” with him.In the September 2022 email Davis sent from his gmail account, he wrote: “Sam – my son Christopher is being engaged as a consultant for an NFT entity that is considering your platform – grateful if you were to take a call to discuss – my son is copied on this email – thanks.” While the message is from a gmail account, it has the email signature of “Hon.Philip E.‘Brave’ Davis, QC, MP, Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, Office of The Prime Minister”.
While in his email the prime minister described his son as a “consultant for an NFT”, a statement sent last night by the prime minister’s office painted a different picture.It said, “Christopher Davis, the son of the prime minister, an author and researcher on the history of slavery in The Bahamas, is the founder of a non-profit organization called Sankofa Flamingo, which strengthens Bahamian ties to historical roots in Africa and promotes Junkanoo in Africa.
“In the Fall of 2022, Sankofa Flamingo was exploring ways to use NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, to benefit Junkanoo artists, straw vendors and others whose artistry would be represented in digital form and traded online.“In the Fall of 2022, FTX was one of the most prominent exchanges for the trade of digital assets, including NFTs.NFTs were thought to hold great promise for providing artists with a new revenue stream to support their work.“Christopher Davis and a fellow non-profit colleague had a single meeting with Mr.
Bankman-Fried to learn more about NFTs.“Neither Christopher nor his non-profit received any funding as a result of the meeting.” NFTs are tokens that exist on a block chain and cannot be replicated.It allows the owner of the NFT to “tokenize” the asset, which could be art or real estate or some other tangible asset.The NFT is assigned a unique identification code which cannot be replicated or used in fraud.During cross examination, Sassoon asked Bankman-Fried if he remembered offering favors to government officials in The Bahamas, the Washington Post reported.Bankman-Fried, 31, said he did not remember if he let Davis and his wife use the company’s courtside seats at a Miami Heat basketball game.Sassoon then showed the jury screenshots of private messages where SBF told co-workers that Davis and his wife sat courtside at a Heat’s game.
Bankman-Fried also said he could not remember if he offered to pay off The Bahamas’ national debt, a claim made in author Michael Lewis’ book about Bankman-Fried.The government has denied that particular claim.The Tribune reported yesterday that OPM Communications Director Latrae Rahming refuted claims that Davis and his wife received free “court-side seat” tickets from FTX and other hospitality perks in attending a Miami Heat basketball game.
Rahming reportedly told Tribune Business the prime minister’s attendance at the December 1, 2021, match-up with the Cleveland Cavaliers was “not contingent” on any gifts provided by the failed crypto currency exchange and Bankman-Fried.FTX was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.It was formed in 2019 and relocated its headquarters to The Bahamas in 2021.The US arm of the company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and FTX’s Bahamas-based company, FTX Digital Markets, is in liquidation under the oversight of court appointed joint provisional liquidators.The Davis administration in welcoming Bankman-Fried and FTX to The Bahamas, had touted The Bahamas’ new regulatory regime as a catalyst for the multi-billion-dollar company’s arrival.Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy..
