The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) raised concerns about FTX in March 2022, with officials from the regulator expressing concerns about how FTX operates in Australia, The Guardian reported. Discussions within the regulator were sparked by an article in the Australian Financial Review in March 2022, in which Sam Bankman-Fried spoke about the company's Australian launch. The regulator has placed FTX under “surveillance activity” since March 2023. ASIC said FTX's Australian subsidiary acquired a license to operate in the country through an acquisition, before suspending that license when FTX filed for bankruptcy.