Department of Justice Watchdog seeks independent investigation into FTX debacle

A Department of Justice watchdog group is looking to open an independent investigation of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. 

The DOJ’s U.S. Trustee for Regions Three and Nine is the watchdog that wants a bankruptcy court to appoint an independent examiner to investigate what may have led to the collapse.

FTX announced that it would move forward with bankruptcy filings early last month. The firm had been worth $32 billion and reports have indicated that at least $1 billion in client funds have disappeared, affecting roughly 1 million investors. Also reportedly missing are many millions of dollars' worth of company assets.

"An examiner could—and should—investigate the substantial and serious allegations of fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, and mismanagement by the Debtors, the circumstances surrounding the Debtors' collapse, the apparent conversion of exchange customers' property, and whether colorable claims and causes of action exist to remedy losses," the filing read. 

The Justice Department is investigating the situation already, according to the Epoch Times. 

Once the GOP takes control of the House in January, they plan to hold hearings about what happened with FTX since a lot of money was given to  the nation's political establishment — Democrats and Republicans — regulators and academics.

"The oversight committee is to root out fraud and abuse — this is one of them," South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman told the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "Yes, it should have had a red flag on all the dollars going in."