Feds seize almost $700 million of FTX assets in Sam Bankman-Fried criminal case

[ad_1]

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Manhattan federal court, New York, January 3, 2023. 

Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images

Federal prosecutors seized over $697 million in cash and assets connected to Sam Bankman-Fried, court filings from Friday show, primarily Robinhood shares that were owned by the FTX founder.

John Ray, who replaced Bankman-Fried as CEO to guide FTX’s restructuring, is trying to rescue funds that were lost by the crypto company’s depositors when the firm spiraled into bankruptcy in November. Bankman-Fried was arrested on criminal fraud charges in December and is released on a $250 million bond as he awaits trial.

The 55 million-plus Robinhood shares are at the heart of a contentious multi-party battle between Caribbean litigants, representatives of bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi, Bankman-Fried himself, and FTX’s bankruptcy leadership.

Three accounts were held at Silvergate Bank, in the name of FTX Digital Markets, holding over $6 million. Those assets, held in the name of a Bahamian subsidiary, were seized by the government “on or about” Jan. 11.

Almost $50 million was custodied at Moonstone Bank, a U.S. financial institution with ties to FTX management, the court filing shows.

Federal prosecutors did not disclose the value of funds or assets in one Binance account and two Binance.US account numbers. Those three Binance accounts were the only seized assets that did not have values attached to them.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

[ad_2]

Source link