FTX has claimed that formed CE Sam Bankman-Fried gained ‘unauthorized access to FTX systems before moving ‘digital assets’ to Bahamian regulators.
The filing says evidence suggested that Bahamian regulators directed Bankham-Fried, 30, to access the systems.
Bankham-Fried’s interview with Vox where he expressed disdain for regulators is cited in the filing, according to CNBC.
In the interview he said ‘f*** regulators’ adding: ‘They make everything worse. They don’t protect customers at all.’
FTX lodged the motion in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, saying Bankham-Freid’s alleged conduct puts the Bahamian regulator’s request for recognition as liquidators in the bankruptcy in ‘serious question.’
The founder of the failed crypto platform, whose collapse has cost consumers billions of dollars, admitted his efforts to appear moral during the company’s heyday were a ‘dumb game we woke Westerners play’.
He sensationally said blame for the disaster at FTX lay with Alameda Research, the trading firm that he founded in 2017 and was run by his on-off lover, Harry Potter enthusiast Caroline Ellison.
He sensationally said blame for the disaster at FTX lay with Alameda Research, the trading firm that he founded in 2017 and was run by his on-off lover, Harry Potter enthusiast Caroline Ellison
FTX lodged the motion in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, saying Bankham-Freid’s alleged conduct puts the Bahamian regulator’s (pictured) request for recognition as liquidators in the bankruptcy in ‘serious question’
Bankman-Fried, who owned a majority stake in Alameda, installed Ellison, 28, as CEO of the multibillion-dollar fund in October 2021 despite her limited professional trading experience.
He appears to accept FTX lent Alameda billions of dollars in clients’ money without their knowledge or permission.
The crisis at FTX was triggered when customers rushed to withdraw their funds, but the company couldn’t pay out.
The filing states: ‘In connection with investigating a hack on Sunday, November 13, Mr. Bankman-Fried and [FTX co-founder Gary] Wang, stated in recorded and verified texts that “Bahamas regulators” instructed that certain post-petition transfers of Debtor assets be made by Mr. Wang and Mr. Bankman-Fried (who the Debtors understand were both effectively in the custody of Bahamas authorities) and that such assets were “custodied on FireBlocks under control of Bahamian gov’t”.’
‘The Debtors thus have credible evidence that the Bahamian government is responsible for directing unauthorized access to the Debtors’ systems for the purpose of obtaining digital assets of the Debtors—that took place after the commencement of these cases.
Bankman-Fried (pictured) transferred $10billion of FTX customer money to crypto trading house Alameda Research as investors withdrew $6billion from the crypto platform last week
Disgraced tech bro Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, (left) blamed his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison (right) for the collapse of his company FTX. Ellison had just 18 months of trading experience when she joined Alameda, before later being appointed its CEO
‘The appointment of the JPLs and recognition of the Chapter 15 Case are thus in serious question.’
Bankman-Fried, 30, lived in a $40 million penthouse in the Bahamas, a tax haven, with Ellison in a 10-person ‘polycule’ which made up his inner circle of FTX and Alameda executives.
He made his latest string of sensational comments in a car crash interview with Vox reporter Kelsey Piper.
Serious questions are now being asked of SEC chair Gary Gensler who is facing scrutiny over his relationship with the disgraced crypto wunderkind – and the lack of oversight of the crypto market that Gensler has himself described as the Wild West.
Before his downfall, Bankman-Fried sucked up to regulators and politicians in an effort to convince them cryptocurrency was a worthy asset that should be embraced.
But in the Vox interview, he said ‘f*** regulators’ and accused them of making ‘everything worse’.
Piper tells Bankman-Fried: ‘You were really good at talking about ethics, for someone who kind of saw it all as a game with winners and losers.’
Across a series of messages, he responds: ‘Ya, I had to be, it’s what reputations are made of, to some extent.
Sam Bankman-Fried is pictured alongside Bill Clinton and Tony Blair at a crypto conference in the Bahamas in May before his firm went under
As calls grow for greater regulation of crypto, lawmakers are asking why Gary Gensler why he did not intervene sooner
‘I feel bad for those who get f***** by it, by this dumb game we woke westerners play where we say all the right shiboleths [sic] and so everyone likes us.’
Shibboleth generally refers to shared beliefs.
Bankman-Fried also appears to accept the suggestion that FTC ‘loaned [clients’] money to Alameda, who had gambled with their money, and lost it’.
He said he ‘thought Alameda had enough collateral to reasonable [sic] cover it’.
Alameda was thought to owe FTX $10 billion – more than half of FTX’s assets – after it was loaned the money despite being strictly forbidden by FTX’s terms of service.
Astonishingly, Bankman-Fried says his biggest mistake was filing for bankruptcy after FTX collapsed.
Despite his fundamental role in the failure of FTX, he claims ‘everything would be ≈70% fixed right now if I hadn’t [filed for bankruptcy]’
‘If I hadn’t done that, withdrawals would be opening up in a month with customers fully whole,’ he said.
Over the summer, the FTX owner opened up to Piper about unethical moves within the crypto world and how ‘unethical’ decisions cause ‘massively more damage than good.’ But now Bankman-Freid is backtracking on his statement about unethical moves and calling it a ‘front’
Bankman-Fried smiling next to Gisele Bundchen who was an ambassador for his company, FTX. The supermodel is named in a new class action lawsuit worth $11 billion
‘But instead I filed and the people in charge of it are trying to burn it all to the ground out of shame.
‘I might still get there but after way more collateral damage.’
He added: ‘I have two weeks to raise $8 billion, that’s basically all that matters for the rest of my life.’
Authorities in America and the Bahamas, where FTX was based and Bankman-Fried is currently holed up, are discussing the possibility of extraditing him to the United States for questioning.
The scandal has triggered a crisis of confidence in cryptocurrency as a whole and caused the value of assets including Bitcoin to plunge.
Last week it was reported that Alameda was allegedly transferred $10 billion of FTX customer money in secret by Bankman-Fried.
Around $2 billion of the $10 billion transferred to Alameda is reportedly still missing.
The financial hole was revealed in records that Bankman-Fried shared with other senior executives last Sunday, sources said.
Tom Brady and now ex-wife Gisele Bundchen appeared in an FTX commercial last year. They’re named in a class action lawsuit which alleges the firm’s collapse has cost consumers $11 billion
The records provided an up-to-date account of the situation at the time, they said. Both sources held senior FTX positions until this week and said they were briefed on the company’s finances by top staff.
Bahamas-based FTX filed for bankruptcy on Friday after a rush of customer withdrawals earlier this week. A rescue deal with rival exchange Binance fell through, precipitating crypto’s highest-profile collapse in recent years.
Ellison and Bankman-Fried are understood to have dated, but have since split.
According to CoinDesk, she was among the nine friends who lived with the former tycoon in a luxury penthouse in the Bahamas.
He said he slept mostly on couches and beanbags at the five-bed mansion, which he is now trying to sell for $40million.
And now a string of A-list celebrities who publicly backed FTX has been sued in a class action lawsuit worth $11 billion.
Stars including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry and Larry David are among those named in the suit filed in Florida.