This week, federal prosecutors seized over $697 million in cash and assets connected to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of crypto company FTX. According to court filings, this includes 55 million+ Robinhood shares and three accounts held at Silvergate Bank, in the name of FTX Digital Markets, which held over $6 million. Additionally, almost $50 million was custodied at Moonstone Bank, a U.S. financial institution with ties to FTX management. Three Binance accounts were also seized, though their values were not disclosed.
Bankman-Fried was arrested on criminal fraud charges in December and released on a $250 million bond. John Ray was then appointed as his replacement to guide FTX's restructuring. Ray is attempting to rescue funds that were lost by the crypto company's depositors when it spiraled into bankruptcy in November.
These latest developments follow a multi-party dispute between Caribbean litigants, representatives of BlockFi, Bankman-Fried, and FTX's bankruptcy leadership. It is currently unclear what will happen to the seized assets and how this will affect the parties involved. It is also unknown how the funds will be used to help the crypto company's depositors who lost money during its bankruptcy. All parties will be monitoring the situation as it continues to unfold.