Former FTX chief govt Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea earlier than US District Judge Lewis Kaplan within the Manhattan federal courtroom, New York, January 3, 2023.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
Federal prosecutors seized practically $700 million in money and belongings related to Sam Bankman-Fried, primarily within the type of Robinhood shares that had been owned by the FTX founder, a courtroom submitting revealed Friday.
John Ray, who changed Bankman-Fried as CEO to information FTX’s restructuring, is attempting to rescue funds that had been misplaced by the crypto firm’s depositors when the agency spiraled into chapter 11 in November. Bankman-Fried was arrested on prison fraud expenses in December and is launched on a $250 million bond as he awaits trial.
The 55 million-plus Robinhood shares are on the coronary heart of a contentious multi-party battle between Caribbean litigants, representatives of bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi, Bankman-Fried himself, and FTX’s chapter management.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that the Robinhood shares had been bought utilizing allegedly stolen buyer funds. In May, Bankman-Fried revealed that he’d bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood and stated on the time “we think it is an attractive investment.” The inventory closed Friday at $9.52, valuing the recovered shares at over $526 million.
Bankman-Fried has denied misappropriating buyer belongings.
Three of the seized accounts had been held at Silvergate Bank, within the identify of FTX Digital Markets, holding over $6 million. Those belongings, held within the identify of a Bahamian subsidiary, had been assumed by the federal government “on or about” Jan. 11. Silvergate just lately disclosed that buyer deposits plunged by practically 70% within the fourth quarter of 2022.
Almost $50 million was custodied at Moonstone Bank, a U.S. monetary establishment with ties to FTX administration, the courtroom submitting exhibits.
Federal prosecutors didn’t disclose the worth of funds or belongings in a single Binance account and two Binance.US account numbers. Those three Binance accounts had been the one seized belongings that didn’t have values connected to them.