Pro-crypto U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, in a recent tweet, said she’s going to bring down those involved in the anti-crypto “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” following some new allegations against the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
A group of whistleblowers named “FDIC Exposed” came out on Jan. 11 saying that the FDIC has been going after crypto firms for many years now.
The whistleblower report, which was a very long tweet on X, said the agency is pressuring banks to stop rendering services to crypto companies like Coinbase and Custodia Bank.
A senior FDIC manager was quoted mocking crypto firms, saying they are “assholes who think they know how to regulate themselves.”
Outgoing FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg is said to be the mastermind of this secret operation. The group accused him of organizing false information campaigns, using media connections and using his job to limit the industry’s growth by making it hard to get banking services.
According to the whistleblowers, FDIC officials bragged about their power and high salaries, with one claiming, “My salary is probably more than [Nic Carter] makes in a decade.”
The whistleblowers also exposed some mind-blowing corruption in the FDIC, including actions to stop Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. In one recording, a lawyer said, “If we include mixed language in the documents, we can justify withholding the entire thing.”
Other recordings showed that FDIC lawyers were present in meetings just to use attorney-client privilege and prevent information from being shared.
The report went as far as pointing out talks about covering up sexual assaults in FDIC buildings and downplaying scandals related to Gruenberg, including claims of physical abuse and bad behaviour called “a natural reaction.”
“The findings are nothing short of astonishing,” the whistleblower group stated in its report.
In her tweet, Senator Lummis assures that she and Tim Scott, the newly appointed head of the Senate Banking Committee, are committed to thoroughly investigating these allegations. Lummis stated that together they are going “to get to the bottom of these serious allegations.”
The recordings were from as far back as over seven years of private phone calls, meetings, and private chats. The whistleblowers said that the FDIC’s media team has been working with some journalists to make up bad stories about crypto while making the agency look good to the public in return for insider information.
The report claims FDIC is scared that blockchain and web3 could threaten its power and make its 5,000+ employees obsolete. The agency also allegedly mocked crypto supporters who are bold enough to push back against its actions.
Also Read: Pro XRP lawyer offers to Probe Operation Chokepoint 2.0
