'Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls', says John J Ray III

Feature Image: Midjourney AI, prompt “Pejury CEO Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”

DECLARATION OF JOHN J. RAY III IN SUPPORT OF CHAPTER 11 PETITIONS AND FIRST DAY PLEADINGS

I, John J. Ray III, hereby declare under penalty of perjury as follows:

1. I am the Chief Executive Officer of the above-captioned debtors and debtors-in-possession (collectively, the “Debtors”), having accepted this position in the early morning hours of November 11, 2022. I am administering the interests and affairs of the Debtors from my offices in the United States.

   
   

2. My first official act in these roles was to authorize the chapter 11 filings of the Debtors and the commencement of the above-captioned chapter 11 cases (the “Chapter 11 Cases”).

   
   

3. Since my appointment, I have worked around the clock with teams of professionals at Alvarez & Marsal, Sullivan & Cromwell, Nardello & Co., Chainalysis, Kroll and a confidential cybersecurity firm, to secure the assets of the Debtors wherever located, to identify reliable books and records, to assemble the information necessary to provide to this Court, and to respond to numerous inquiries from multiple regulators and government authorities including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and the U.S. Congress, among others.

   
   

4. I have over 40 years of legal and restructuring experience. I have been the Chief Restructuring Officer or Chief Executive Officer in several of the largest corporate failures in history. I have supervised situations involving allegations of criminal activity and malfeasance (Enron). I have supervised situations involving novel financial structures (Enron and Residential Capital) and cross-border asset recovery and maximization (Nortel and Overseas Shipholding). Nearly every situation in which I have been involved has been characterized by defects of some sort in internal controls, regulatory compliance, human resources and systems integrity.

   
   

5. Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented.

   
   

6. These Chapter 11 Cases have five core objectives:

   
   

   (a) Implementation of Controls: the implementation of accounting, audit, cash management, cybersecurity, human resources, risk management, data protection and other systems that did not exist, or did not exist to an appropriate degree, prior to my appointment;

   (b) Asset Protection & Recovery: the location and security of property of the estate, a substantial portion of which may be missing or stolen;

   (c) Transparency and Investigation: the pending, comprehensive, transparent and deliberate investigation into claims against Mr. Samuel Bankman-Fried, the other co-founders of the Debtors and third parties, in coordination with regulatory stakeholders in the United States and around the world;

   (d) Efficiency and Coordination: cooperation and coordination with insolvency proceedings of subsidiary companies in other jurisdictions; and

   (e) Maximization of Value: the maximization of value for all stakeholders through the eventual reorganization or sale of the Debtors’ complex array of businesses, investments and digital and physical property.

   These proceedings in the District of Delaware are the appropriate means to accomplish each of these objectives.

   
   

7. Except as otherwise indicated herein, all facts set forth in this declaration (the “Declaration”) are based on my personal knowledge, my review of relevant materials in the Debtors’ files or my opinion based on my experience, knowledge and information concerning the Debtors’ operations and financial affairs. I am over the age of 18 and authorized to submit this Declaration on behalf of each of the Debtors.

   
   

8. For the reasons explained below, the Debtors expect to provide supplemental declarations as to the subject matter of this Declaration in connection with future motions as more information becomes available to the Debtors, stakeholders and the Court.