The U.S. Justice Section stated in a Delaware bankruptcy courtroom listening to that it experienced taken custody of $450 million in Robinhood shares from FTX.
In Could 2022, then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX cofounder Gary Wang fashioned a holding corporation referred to as Emergent to invest in shares in the publicly traded Robinhood platform. In an affidavit filed in December, Bankman-Fried and Wang said they applied funds taken in loans totaling $546 million from Alameda Study to invest in the shares.
A law firm for FTX observed in the listening to that the owner of the shares was unclear. A possible claimant to the shares—besides FTX creditors—includes BlockFi. BlockFi suggests the shares had been promised to it by Bankman-Fried and the now-bankrupt enterprise has sued to acquire the pledged shares.
“The seizures that have taken area ended up requested by the courtroom in relationship with the felony steps in the Southern District of New York with regard to Mr. Bankman, Miss Ellison and Mr. Wang,” FTX attorney James Bromley explained on Wednesday. “The factors that are currently being seized have to do with the Robinhood inventory.”
Bromley cited ongoing litigation encompassing the collapse of FTX and subsequent chapter 11 personal bankruptcy of BlockFi in November 2022, as perfectly as proceedings getting put in Antigua and Barbuda pertaining to the Robinhood shares.
“We are definitely reserving our rights with respect to the debtors and anticipate that the other functions are as properly, but just desired to make sure that it was clear that the Robinhood shares that had been becoming seized were remaining seized from accounts that are not presently less than the command of the debtors,” Bromley claimed.
In the listening to, the Justice Section reported it would file a see of seizure that will lay out all of the agency’s assets that have been taken from FTX.
“And for the court’s benefit, we will file a recognize of seizure so that the courtroom is conscious and has a little something in the docket that displays what’s actually been seized by the U.S. govt,” stated U.S. Lawyer Seth Shapiro. “So that if we really don’t close up resolving it there, it’ll be distinct for applications of litigation what is really in the government’s possession.”
The up coming court hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2023, with the presiding choose blocking out the total day’s calendar to focus on FTX, the Robinhood shares, and any further developments.
Bankman-Fried, Wang, and previous CEO of Alameda Study Caroline Ellison are experiencing a litany of charges, including bank and wire fraud, dollars laundering, and conspiracy.
If located guilty on all expenses, the trio could invest the rest of their lives in federal prison.
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