Only the accounts and the Robinhood shares have been made public so far in the court proceedings.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, had roughly $700 million in cash and assets seized by US federal prosecutors.
The 55 million Robinhood shares owned by Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, worth approximately $455 million, are at the center of the seizure. Even Yonathan Ben Shimon, a creditor of BlockFi and FTX, who asserted claims over the shares, has contested their ownership. For example, according to the Feds, they were bought with allegedly stolen money from FTX clients.
What Are The Seized Assets?
Three FTX Digital Markets accounts on Silvergate Bank, totaling more than $6 million, were mentioned in the CNBC story. These resources were taken sometime after January 11. Another bank with connections to FTX management was Moonstone Bank in rural Washington; it kept close to $50 million, which is currently in the US government’s possession.
The bank just announced that it will leave the cryptocurrency industry and go back to its “original goal” as a community bank.
One Binance and two Binance had their assets taken.
US account numbers are provided, but the values are kept under wraps by the Feds. Also subject to forfeiture was more than $20 million kept under Emergent Fidelity Technologies.
As part of the bankruptcy process, FTX’s new management and chief restructuring officer, John J. Ray III, have located billions of dollars worth of assets connected to the Bankman-crypto Fried’s empire. After being extradited from the Bahamas, the former CEO entered a not-guilty plea to eight criminal allegations, including wire fraud and breaking campaign funding rules.
What Followed SBF’s Bail?
Following Bankman-release Fried’s on bail, more information about the two unnamed people who, together with his parents, co-sponsored a $700,000 bond for his release came to light. One person contributed $500,000, and the other contributed $200,000 to help him get out of jail. However, after attorneys for the FTX founder expressed concerns about their safety, the court suppressed their names.
The ex-crypto entrepreneur had previously claimed that after the exchange’s insolvency, which trapped billions of dollars in investor cash, his family came under “extreme public attention, persecution, and received threats of physical death.”
More recently, SBF lawyers claimed that three men intimidated the security guard stationed outside his parent’s home in California and even crashed their car into a metal barricade, according to a document filed with the Manhattan federal court.
The 30-year-old was released on bail with a $250 million bond and several restrictions. This year’s criminal trial for him is set to start in October.
