Founders and key employees of the collapsed FTX group of crypto firms received $3.2 billion in payments and loans, mainly from trading house Alameda Research, according to court filings.
(Bloomberg) — Founders and key employees of the collapsed FTX group of crypto firms received $3.2 billion in payments and loans, mainly from trading house Alameda Research, according to court filings.
The sum includes about $2.2 billion for Sam Bankman-Fried, the filings show. Bankman-Fried is an FTX co-founder who is now awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to a years-long fraud at the helm of the digital-asset exchange.
The administrators of FTX also identified a string of other approximate transfers as part of the overall $3.2 billion:
- $587 million to Nishad Singh, ex-FTX director of engineering
- $246 million to Gary Wang, an FTX co-founder
- $87 million to Ryan Salame, former co-chief executive officer of FTX Digital Markets
- $25 million to Sam Trabucco, former co-head of Alameda
- $6 million to Caroline Ellison, ex-chief executive officer of Alameda
These figures exclude more than $240 million spent to buy luxury property in the Bahamas, political and charitable donations made directly by the FTX Debtors and substantial transfers to non-Debtor subsidiaries in the Bahamas and elsewhere, according to a statement from the administrators.
They added that the “amount and timing of eventual monetary recoveries cannot be predicted at this time” and that forensic analysis is likely to uncover more assets, liabilities and transfers.
US authorities allege that FTX customer funds were used for trading at affiliated hedge fund Alameda and for personal expenses. Ellison, Wang and Singh have admitted to fraud and are cooperating with federal prosecutors.
FTX collapsed in November last year with an $8 billion hole in its balance sheet. Administrators are sifting through the wreckage in an effort to see how much can be returned to creditors.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.