US lawmakers reiterate concerns about 'sham' crypto firm audits to PCAOB

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden person cited the caller illness of 3 large banks to telephone connected the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to “rein in” audits of crypto firms.

In a March 21 missive to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board seat Erica Williams, Warren and Wyden reiterated concerns implicit “shady audits” of crypto companies the brace raised successful January, this clip referencing the failures of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank. The 2 senators requested Williams respond to questions connected whether improper audits and proof-of-reserve reports “may person played a nonstop oregon indirect role” successful the illness of the banks.

“You person ample authorization to found standards for auditors that necessitate immoderate SEC-registered auditor to lone behaviour audits of crypto firms that comply with existing standards for audit quality,” said the letter. “Based connected the evident threats to investors and the nationalist involvement posed by sham audits, immoderate audits and reviews of crypto firms done by SEC-registered auditors indispensable support a precocious level of scrutiny. Otherwise, these sham audits indispensable beryllium addressed by PCAOB.”

Congress and the Fed weakened accent tests and different rules to forestall large banks from taking connected excessively overmuch hazard and crashing the system — each truthful banks could marque bigger profits. Banks can't beryllium trusted to modulate themselves. Congress and our regulators request to measurement up. https://t.co/AVcFr7g3GB

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 21, 2023

Warren and Wyden suggested that defunct crypto speech FTX, presently successful bankruptcy tribunal for Chapter 11 proceedings, could person impacted the events astir Silvergate and Signature, fixed the steadfast “received sham fiscal reviews” by auditors registered with the PCAOB:

“In assessing the risks associated with the FTX’s deposits, arsenic good arsenic those of different crypto-related customers, the banks whitethorn person relied connected the misleading and faulty fiscal accusation provided by proof-of-reserve examinations.”

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The 2 senators requested Williams supply a staff-level briefing connected March 31, and respond to the questions raised by April 4.

Warren, an outspoken professional of galore aspects of the integer plus abstraction successful Congress, has been pointing to a deficiency of regulatory oversight arsenic portion of the crushed down the nonaccomplishment of the aforementioned banks. On March 15, she requested Federal Reserve seat Jerome Powell recuse himself from immoderate reappraisal of regulatory failures starring to the illness of Silicon Valley Bank.

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