According to a court document filed Friday, Jan. 20, federal prosecutors recovered more than $700 million in cash and assets related to Sam Bankman-Fried, primarily in the form of Robinhood stock owned by the former FTX CEO. , first reported by CNBC.
To oversee the restructuring of FTX, John Ray took over as CEO from Bankman-Fried. He is now trying to recover the money that customers of the cryptocurrency company lost when it went bankrupt in November.
Bankman-Fried was detained in December on charges of criminal fraud. He is awaiting trial and is currently on $250 million bail.
(Photo: STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images))
This photo illustration shows a message that we strongly advise against depositing on November 13, 2022 on the cryptocurrency website FTX, displayed near the logo, in Washington, DC. – The new CEO of troubled cryptocurrency platform FTX said on Nov. 12: In 2022, the company was making “every effort to secure all assets” after unauthorized transactions potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the platform’s CEO, 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried, who was once considered a star in the free-roaming cryptocurrency world, resigned.
Allegedly stolen client money
According to federal authorities, the Robinhood shares were purchased with allegedly stolen customer money. Bankman-Fried stated that Robinhood was an attractive investment when he announced in May that he had purchased a 7.6% stake in the company.
The shares recovered were valued at nearly $526 million when the stock closed Friday at $9.52, according to CNBC.
However, the former CEO has refuted allegations that it stole money from customers.
Three of the confiscated accounts, each totaling more than $6 million, were held at Silvergate Bank in the name of FTX Digital Markets. The government took ownership of the assets “on or about” January 11, which were registered in the name of a Bahamian company.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, we saw a decline of about 70% in consumer deposits, according to the latest information from Silvergate.
According to the court document, Moonstone Bank, a US financial institution associated with FTX management, had approximately $50 million in custody.
However, the amount of money or property in one Binance account and two US account numbers has not been disclosed by federal prosecutors. The only assets seized with no value were those three Binance accounts.
Read also: FTX Update: New CEO Lambasts Bankman-Fried for the company’s demise; Funds allegedly used to buy workers’ homes?
DOJ tracks Robinhood stocks
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) also traced Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang’s Robinhood shares to a holding company in the UK on January 10.
Both executives allegedly purchased this massive $455 million worth of Robinhood stock using investor funds.
The DOJ is in charge of more than $55 million worth of Robinhood stock, and Bankman-Fried and Wang remain the subject of ongoing investigations.
FTX attorneys also announced on Jan. 11 that they had recovered approximately $5 billion in liquid assets.
The crypto exchange’s lawyers also noted that the $5 billion cache was so huge that trying to sell the asset could cause serious negative pressure on the market and lower its value.
Related article: CryptoWatch: CES 2023’s Cryptocurrency Climate Actions, Square Enix’s Blockchain Investment and SBF Plead Not Guilty
(Photo: Tech Times)
ⓒ 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
