FTX lawyers: Examiner could cost $100M and ‘provide no benefit’

cointelegraph.com:

An investigation into FTX’s collapse by an examiner could cost the firm upwards of $100 million without providing any benefit to creditors or equity holders, argues lawyers representing the bankrupt crypto exchange. 

The arguments were part of a Jan. 25 objection to a motion from the United States Trustee in December, which called for the judge to appoint an independent examiner to ensure any investigations are transparent and their findings made public.

This will be fascinating.4 Senators submitted a letter asking for an Independent Examiner. Will they do more?Several States have entered the FTX case. Will they lend support for an Examiner? The SEC asked for the Independent Examiner in Enron. Will they say anything here? https://t.co/KiSZKYonCD

FTX lawyers argued that creditors would not benefit from an examiner investigation that duplicates investigations led by FTX’s CEO John J. Ray III, a committee of creditors, law enforcement agencies and Congress, adding:

The creditors’ committee, also known as The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, submitted their own objection to the appointment of an independent examiner on Jan. 25, also citing the prohibitive costs involved and the investigations of various parties which are already underway.

In the original motion, the U.S. Trustee had noted if the court was concerned about the duplication of work, it could allow the examiner to access existing work, adding:

Joint provisional liquidators in the Bahamas and FTX US also opposed the appointment on Jan. 25, pointing to a section of the bankruptcy code that allows the judge to appoint an examiner “as is appropriate,” and arguing that the unnecessary costs and delays that would accompany the appointment of an examiner render it