Seven months after the failure of crypto exchange FTX, the restructuring group is trying hard to recover assets scattered by the company within its various subsidiaries.
This time it was the turn of “FTX Philantropy,” a non-profit organization that allegedly received in a” non-transparent” way about $71 million from Alameda Research and the now defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
Let’s take a look at the details of the news together.
Summary
FTX crypto exchange trustee wants to recover funds from the company’s philanthropic arm
The latest crypto news talks about the willingness on the part of trustee of the defunct exchange FTX to recover some of the funds channeled by the company into philanthropic activities before the November 2022 crash.
FTX’s current CEO, John J. Ray III, and the Kroll Restructuring Administration are trying to get back what they can from the assets lost by Sam Bankman Fried, not to mention the illegitimate donations carried out with customers’ money.
Indeed, according to a document filed in court on Wednesday 19 July, the previous administration of the bankrupt crypto exchange allegedly squandered a large sum of money on donations and philanthropic activities.
A total of about $71 million was allegedly sent to life sciences companies such as Lumen Bioscience Inc. and Platform Life Sciences Inc, through the guise of real and tangible generosity, which was financed by other people’s money.
Under the guise of helping the less fortunate and subsidizing scientific research for prevention and preparedness for viruses and pandemics, SBF and the staff would actually aim to improve their image, with obvious positive feedback on the business side.
According to what the lawyers mentioned in the filing:
“While claiming to make these investments for altruistic purposes, Bankman-Fried actually pursued these transactions because he believed that doing so would generate goodwill and accumulate political capital and influence for himself.”
This news came after the same trustee sought to recover $700 million paid by FTX to bribe US political officials and finance election campaigns.Â
Also involved in this matter is a former exchange official, Ryan Salame (arrested last week by the FBI) who allegedly donated more than $650,000 to his girlfriend Michelle Bond, and Republican candidate for Long Island’s congressional district.
In addition, John Ray III is also reportedly trying to take back the 323 million in the European arm of the former exchange platform.
It is not yet clear whether the company in charge of restructuring the FTX crypto exchange and liquidating debtors will be able to recover these assets.
Overall, the sum involved does not appear to be so large as to worry defrauded investors, given that the official platform has already been opened to make the claim for the assets lost during the platform crash.
In any case, the management of FTX and the group of affiliated creditors are not looking at anyone’s face and are trying to recover the maximum amount possible, also in view of the legal fees accrued in recent months.
The lavish life of Sam Bankman Fried and FTX executives before the crash
Before the bankruptcy of the crypto exchange FTX, its founder Sam Bankman Fried led an extremely lavish life, wasting his clients’ money day after day.
Hence, not only political favoritism, bribery and donations to make himself look good in the eyes of the general public, but also material fulfillment for the empire he had built for himself.
A few days following his arrest in December last year, details emerged of the pageantry in which SBF and company executives lived.
Papers that emerged at the time showed how the Bahamas branch of FTX alone allegedly spent about $40 million in nine months on hotels, travel and food.
Specifically from January through September 2022, the crypto exchange spent $15.4 million just to allow its staff to stay in luxury hotels.
Sam Bankamn Fried, on the other hand, lived in the Bahamas in a $30 million penthouse.
Among the crazy expenses we also find $7 million used just for entertainment and catering services.
In addition, it was pointed out that an additional $4 million was also squandered on flights and package shipments.
In this regard, according to reports in the Financial Times of London, the crypto exchange FTX has reportedly signed a private agreement with an airline to ship Amazon orders from a warehouse in Miami.
All, because the shipping company does not deliver packages to the Bahamas.
All employees of the exchange could even count on a full complement of cars and unlimited fuel, as well as free trips around the world, always at the expense of the scammed customers.
To give an idea of how fraudulently SBF enriched himself with his exchange platform, we can mention the luxury in 2022 when he purchased a $40 million yacht.
Then, as icing on the cake, there is the fact that despite the fact that the individual orchestrated one of the biggest scams in history with the crypto exchange FTX, he even managed to avoid jail time by posting a $250 million bail.
Who knows where he got all that money from?
