Federal prosecutors have seized practically $700 million in property from disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
In accordance with a Friday (Jan. 20) courtroom submitting, a bulk of the seizures had been within the type of 55.2 million shares in Robinhood, value $526.2 million. This, because the crypto trade is reportedly exploring a return to buying and selling.
The submitting stated the federal government additionally seized practically $56 million from three totally different financial institution accounts, together with $5.3 million from the cryptocurrency-focused financial institution Silvergate and $49.9 million from Moonstone Financial institution.
As PYMNTS has written, Moonstone Financial institution was “one of many extra stunning property to come back to gentle throughout FTX’s chapter.” The crypto trade held a smaller possession stake within the tiny financial institution in rural Washington state.
Bankman-Fried, 30, is accused of a number of counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the failure of FTX final 12 months. Prosecutors say that the collapse started when he diverted buyer property to sister firm Alameda Analysis, utilizing these funds for investments, actual property purchases and political donations.
Bankman-Fried, who has maintained his innocence, had sought in courtroom to dam the federal government from seizing the Robinhood shares, along with his attorneys arguing the shares usually are not a part of the FTX chapter.
They added that whereas FTX debtors haven’t proven they might be “irreparably injured” by denial of the declare to the shares, Bankman-Fried wants a number of the property to fund his protection.
“Mr. Bankman-Fried has not been discovered criminally or civilly answerable for fraud, and it’s improper for the FTX Debtors to ask the Court docket to easily assume that all the things Mr. Bankman-Fried ever touched is presumptively fraudulent,” his legal professionals stated in a courtroom submitting earlier this month.
That submitting got here on the identical time that two different entities issued requests for the Robinhood shares: crypto lender BlockFi, from which Bankman-Fried had taken loans and pledged the shares as collateral, and the liquidators for Emergent Constancy Expertise in Antigua.
PYMNTS reported final week that FTX’s native token FTT was rising in worth following an announcement by new CEO John J. Ray III that the corporate was exploring a return to crypto buying and selling operations.
“I’m glad Mr. Ray is lastly paying lip service to turning the trade again on after months of squashing such efforts!” Bankman-Fried tweeted in response to the studies, including that he’s nonetheless “ready for [Ray] to lastly admit FTX US is solvent and provides prospects their a refund.”
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