Former FTX US President Brett Harrison Accused FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) of ‘Gaslighting and Manipulation’ on Twitter thread Harrison left FTX.US in September 2022, two months before SBF’s crypto empire collapsed.
Sharing his experience of running FTX US for 17 months, Harrison said the SBF had taken steps to insulate him from key decisions regarding FTX’s US division.
SBF asked former colleague Harrison How to participate in FTX US “casually above the text End of March 2021.
But things changed when Harrison realized that SBF had made influential decisions about FTX US “without warning,” even though it was “rarely involved” in the FTX.US business. . As a result, by October 2021: A “notable rift” had developed between Harrison and SBF, the former wrote.
Harrison began to promote “separation and establishment of independence” of executives, The FTX US legal team, development team, and SBF disagreed. Harrison wrote:
“In that early dispute I [SBF’s] utter insecurity and uncompromisingness when his decisions were questioned, his malice, and the instability of his disposition. I realized he wasn’t the person I remembered. “
At the time, Harrison wrote, SBF’s influence on FTX partners, media, venture capital firms, and the traditional financial industry was “broad and unwavering.” In addition, SBF is a prominent political donor and has dined with Washington’s heavyweights. Elaborating on his dilemma, Harrison added:
“It’s hard under any circumstances to stand up to an insecure, prideful manager. It’s nearly impossible if it deafens you with a story that suggests it must be.”
Harrison confronted him while feeling “It put tremendous pressure on the SBF not to raise any objections. Also, he wasn’t the only FTX US staff member who disagreed with the SBF’s decision.
Harrison said the experience and understanding of FTX US employees is often “Irrelevant and worthless” and was “very frustrating” for all staff.
In the months that followed, Harrison said,We employ a ‘wise hiring policy’ to hire experienced executives at FTX US. He also promoted “transparent communication” between SBF and the US division’s leadership team.
Harrison insisted that the responsibilities of FTX co-founder Gary Wang and engineering chief Nishad Singh be “formally identified” and shared among the larger group. In addition, Harrison proposed extending “administrative responsibility and control” beyond SBF and his inner circle.
These disagreements elicited an unpleasant reaction from the SBF, writes Harrison.
“Sam was uncomfortable with the conflict. I have chosen.”
Harrison had to rush to find out information about the decisions that were made behind her back, but “tried very hard not to show it”.
In early April 2022, Harrison said,It’s the biggest organizational problem that will hamper FTX’s future success. In the complaint, he said he would resign if the matter was not resolved.
In response, executives “blackmailed” Harrison on behalf of SBF. Harrison was warned by the SBF that unless he formally retracted his complaint, he would be fired and his professional reputation would be damaged.
Harrison was also asked to issue an apology to the SBF drafted for him.The incident solidified Harrison’s resolve to leave FTX US, he wrote. As a result, rather than jumping in to finish projects in progress to avoid negatively impacting the company, I gradually “calmed down.”
The fraud revelations that came to light shortly after the collapse of FTX were “It’s hard to assimilate into reality,” Harrison wrote. However, he added that the organizational and management issues he stressed during his tenure are typical of growing startups.
“Underlying these problems was something I had seen in other, more mature companies in my career, and believed it was not fatal to their business success, but the billions. I had no idea it was a dollar scale scam. “
Harrison added that, as evidenced by the indictment and guilty plea, the misconduct was committed by SBF and his inner circle, and that he and other FTX US employees were not involved.
He said the criminal activity was “carefully concealed” from FTX US executives.Unique Channels of Communication with U.S. Regulators, and Unique Authority to Speak to U.S. Media. “
Harrison said if FTX US executives had any suspicions about criminal activity, they would have notified authorities immediately.
