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☆ FTX exec who turned on Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 7.5 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ryan Salame, a former top lieutenant of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has been sentenced to 90 months, or seven and a half years, in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In September, Salame pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions, defraud the Federal Election Commission, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison in March. Salame spent millions of dollars on real estate and campaign donations during his tenure. Meanwhile, data from the Federal Election Commission shows that Salame gave more than $24 million to Republican candidates and causes in the 2022 election cycle.

Persons: Ryan Salame, Sam Bankman, Salame, Judge Lewis Kaplan Organizations: FTX Digital Markets, Commission, Alameda Research, FTX's, FTX, New Providence, Federal, Republican Locations: New York, Bankman, New, U.S

☆ Why Sam Bankman-Fried wanted to spend $10 million a year to put FTX name on sports stadium
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Prosecutors entered corroborating materials, including encrypted Signal messages and other internal documents that appear to show Bankman-Fried orchestrating the spending of FTX customer money. Similarly, Bankman-Fried testified that he believed the lavish Bahamas properties were being paid for with FTX operating cash that came from revenue and venture investments. As for the venture investments, Bankman-Fried said he thought that money was coming from Alameda's operating profits and third-party lending desks. Alameda's venture arm was renamed Clifton Bay Investments, which Bankman-Fried said was a first step in building a dedicated venture brand. When asked about loans he took from the business, Bankman-Fried said they were to pay for venture investments and political donations.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Amanda Perobelli, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Mark Cohen, Bankman, Cohen, Sam Bankman Fried, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Elizabeth Williams, Caroline Ellison, Judge Kaplan, Jane, Banks, weren't, cryptocurrencies, FTX, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, Singh, Wang, Prosecutors, Dan Friedberg, Fenwick, Marco Bello, Ryan Salame, Salame, Katy Perry, —, Dawn Giel Organizations: FTX, Reuters FTX, U.S, District, Stanford, Alameda Research, Elizabeth Williams Prosecutors, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alameda, Fenwick & West, Reuters, NFL's New, NFL's New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Facebook, Google, Clifton Bay Investments, Republicans Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Alameda, Bahamas, Berkeley , California, FTX, Friedberg, Miami , Florida, Miami, NFL's New Orleans, Clifton Bay, Los Angeles

☆ Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's $35 million crypto frat house in the Bahamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided. Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided. Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence photos featuring Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers at their shared $35 million Bahamian penthouse. In his testimony, Yedidia recalled a group Signal thread labeled "People of the House," which referred to Bankman-Fried's $35 million penthouse. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Exhibit from the prosecution shows Signal thread called "People of the House," referring to Bankman-Fried's $35 million penthouse, where many employees lived.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Gary Wang, Adam Yedidia, Caroline Ellison, She's, somethings, Lewis Kaplan, Yedidia, it's, Ryan Salame, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Bankman, John Ray, Ray, Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake, Michael Lewis, Lewis, napping, Mark Cohen, FTX, Ellison, hadn't Organizations: U.S, Southern, of, Lawyers, Alameda Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, SDNY, Bankman, Alameda, New Providence, FTX, Enron, Capitol, Prosecutors Locations: Bahamas, Manhattan, He's, of New York, Bankman, FTX, Alameda, Hong Kong, Caribbean, New Providence, New, U.S, Albany, oceanside

"Assets were not fine, because FTX did not have enough assets for customer withdrawals." On Friday, Wang testified that on Nov. 6, 2022, FTX executive Nishad Singh knocked on his door and told him customers were trying to withdraw their money faster than FTX could process the transactions. He said no other FTX users had those special privileges, which the exchange did not disclose to its investors or customers. After FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, 2022, Wang testified that at Bankman-Fried's direction, he turned over some remaining FTX customer assets to the Bahamas, where FTX was based. Wang said Bankman-Fried said liquidators and regulators there were more amenable to letting him stay in charge of FTX.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Nicolas Roos, Gary Wang, Jane Rosenberg, FTX, Wang, FTX's, Nishad Singh, CoinDesk, Bankman, WANG, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Christian Everdell, Caroline Ellison, Alameda's, Mark Cohen, Sam, Jody Godoy, Luc Cohen, David Gregorio, Nick Zieminski, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Federal Court, REUTERS, Alameda Research, Washington , D.C, District, Bankman, Thomson Locations: FTX, New York City, U.S, Manhattan, Washington ,, Alameda, Bahamas, Fried, United States, New York

Evan Luthra, an app developer, entrepreneur and angel investor, told CNBC he lost $2 million dollars in the collapse of FTX. Jake Thacker, an FTX customer in Portland, Oregon, told CNBC he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars shortly after losing his job in the tech industry. "I was like, oh my goodness, there's all these big name people utilizing FTX," Kannegundla said. Bhagamshi Kannegundla, an FTX customer, told CNBC he sold his bankruptcy claim to reinvest in crypto. Years later, if the FTX bankruptcy process recovers more than the 11 cents on the dollar for his claim, the buyer pockets the difference.

Persons: FTX's, hasn't, Evan Luthra, Luthra, FTX, Bitcoin, everybody's, Sam Bankman, He's, Fatih Aktas, Jake Thacker, Thacker, I'm, CNBC Thacker, Bhagamshi Kannegundla, Larry David, Kannegundla, Bhagamshi, Sunil Kavuri, Kavuri, Brett Harrison, Harrison, he's, Anthony Scaramucci, didn't Organizations: CNBC, Manhattan Federal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Sequoia, Nurphoto, FTX's, FTX, Financial Technologies, Skybridge Locations: Miami, Manhattan, New York, United States, Portland , Oregon, FTX's, Bahamas, U.S, cryptocurrencies

NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX received court permission on Friday to remove customer names from all filings in its bankruptcy case, persuading a U.S. judge that publishing the names would put people at risk of scams and identity theft. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled that FTX can permanently redact the names of individual customers from its bankruptcy filings, after hearing testimony that publishing customers' names would place them at risk even if other identifying information like their email address was kept secret. In January, Dorsey had allowed FTX to keep secret the names of 9 million of its individual customers for three months. On Friday, Dorsey also authorized FTX to remove the names of companies and institutional investors from its customer lists on a temporary basis, saying FTX will have to make a new request in 90 days. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and several company insiders have been indicted on fraud charges for their role in the company's collapse.

Persons: FTX, John Dorsey, Dorsey, liquidators, Sam Bankman, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: YORK, FTX's, Bahamian, FTX, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wilmington , Delaware, Bahamas, Delaware

Dorsey questioned the value of a Bahamian court ruling during a Thursday court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that he would retain authority over the $7 billion in assets recovered by the U.S. debtors no matter what the Bahamian court rules. "It doesn't go to FTX Digital until I say it goes to FTX Digital," Dorsey said. The sides offered very different descriptions of how important FTX Digital was to the crypto exchange's operations. A court ruling in their favor could place the Bahamian company, and not the U.S. debtors, in charge of collecting assets and deciding how to distribute them to FTX customers. The case is FTX Trading, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No.

Persons: John Dorsey, Dorsey, Chris Shore, Sam Bankman, Bankman, Fried's, Andy Dietderich, Brian Glueckstein, James Bromley of Sullivan, Cromwell, Chris Shore of, FTX, Dietrich Knauth Organizations: U.S, FTX's U.S, FTX Digital, FTX, Bahamian, Bankruptcy, District of, Chris Shore of White, Thomson, & & $ Locations: Delaware, Bahamas, Wilmington , Delaware, U.S, Hong Kong, District of Delaware

Companies FTX Trading Limited FollowMarch 20 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX on Sunday sued the liquidators overseeing the wind-down of its Bahamian affiliate FTX Digital Markets, accusing them of wrongly claiming ownership of the exchange's assets. FTX called FTX DM a "fraudulent enterprise", initially set up only to be a "local service company", which did not own the FTX.com exchange or any of the cryptocurrency seized. FTX has been at odds with Bahamian officials ever since filing for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings against FTX DM a day before the U.S. bankruptcy filing of FTX Trading and more than 100 affiliates, and the two sides have sparred over ownership of FTX assets and access to company data. FTX reported this month that Bankman-Fried took $2.2 billion in funds from the company during a period when the crypto exchange lost $8 billion of customer money.

Former top FTX attorney Daniel Friedberg also opposed Sullivan & Cromwell's hiring, saying Thursday that the law firm had conflicts of interest stemming from its connections to Miller. Sullivan & Cromwell has told the court it should not be disqualified simply because it performed some pre-bankruptcy work for FTX. A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson has said the firm had a "limited and largely transactional" relationship with FTX prior to the bankruptcy and never served as primary outside counsel to any FTX entity. Serving as primary bankruptcy counsel to FTX would likely allow Sullivan & Cromwell to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, legal experts have said. FTX has sought bankruptcy court permission to pay top Sullivan & Cromwell attorneys more than $2,000 per hour.

☆ FTX says $415 million in crypto was hacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloJan 17 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX said in a report to creditors on Tuesday that about $415 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen as a result of hacks. Some $323 million in crypto had been hacked from FTX's international exchange and $90 million had been hacked from its U.S. exchange since it filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, CEO John Ray said in a separate statement on Tuesday. FTX told a bankruptcy judge in Delaware last week that it had recovered over $5 billion in crypto, cash and liquid securities, nine weeks after declaring bankruptcy. The crypto assets recovered to date include $685 million in Solana, $529 million in FTX's proprietary FTT token and $268 million in bitcoin, based on crypto prices on Nov. 11, 2022.

☆ 'I didn't steal funds,' Sam Bankman-Fried says in unusual post-arrest blog post
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I didn't steal funds, and I certainly didn't stash billions away," Bankman-Fried wrote in the blog published on Substack, in a rare public statement by a U.S. criminal defendant. He wrote that Alameda failed to hedge against an "extreme" crash in the crypto markets, which ultimately came to pass last year. "As Alameda became illiquid, FTX International did as well, because Alameda had a margin position open on FTX," Bankman-Fried wrote. Caroline Ellison, Alameda's former chief executive, said in her plea hearing that Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from Alameda. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; editing by Amy Stevens and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - FTX's U.S.-based bankruptcy team have agreed to coordinate with liquidators winding down the crypto exchange's operations in the Bahamas, resolving a dispute that threatened the recovery of what could be billions of dollars in lost funds. FTX’s U.S. bankruptcy team has been at odds with Bahamian officials since November, when competing bankruptcies were filed in the two countries. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings on Nov. 10 against FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the company's Bahamas-based unit. The next day a U.S. Chapter 11 proceeding was filed in Delaware, which included more than 100 FTX entities including FTX Trading and crypto hedge fund Alameda Research. Bahamian regulators have seized FTX assets, which officials said was meant to safeguard assets that will ultimately be returned to creditors of FTX Digital Markets.

The Bahamas has more than 700 islands and cays; remote workers and students can live on 16 of them, including Eleuthera (shown here). Sylvain Sonnet | The Image Bank | Getty ImagesBahamian lawyers say FTX executives Sam Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame spent $256.3 million to buy and maintain 35 different properties across New Providence, Bahamas. watch nowIt is the first true look behind the curtain at FTX's mammoth real estate spending. Now, Bahamian regulators are fighting to get those assets back from FTX's U.S. leadership. In a Monday night filing, the Bahamian lawyers asked a U.S. judge to dismiss the Chapter 11 proceedings for FTX's property subsidiary.

☆ Former FTX exec in talks with investors for new crypto startup - The Information
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Brett Harrison, the former president of collapsed crypto exchange FTX's U.S. arm, is trying to raise money for a new crypto startup, the Information reported on Friday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Harrison has told at least one venture capital firm he is aiming to raise $6 million at a valuation of $60 million for a firm focused on crypto trading software for big investors, the report added. This comes weeks after FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive, after rival exchange Binance walked away from a proposed acquisition. The collapse has rippled across the industry hobbling liquidity at other major players including crypto lenders BlockFi and Genesis. Many firms have since been bracing for a fallout as a sell-off in digital assets deepens and venture investors lose appetite for crypto firms.

☆ Mark Cuban: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried should be ‘afraid of going to jail’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Billionaire Mark Cuban isn't giving up on crypto, despite the implosion of FTX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. However, Cuban says former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried should be "afraid of gong to jail for a long time," in an interview with TMZ. Alameda research, the trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried, was borrowing billions of dollars from FTX users' accounts and trading those funds without their knowledge, CNBC reports. FTX and Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's requests for comment. Don't miss: FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried lost billions and the company filed for bankruptcy—it could signal the ‘demise’ of crypto, expert says

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried says he 'didn't ever try to commit fraud'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I didn't ever try to commit fraud," Bankman-Fried said in the hour-long interview, adding that he doesn't personally think he has any criminal liability. The liquidity crunch at FTX came after Bankman-Fried secretly moved $10 billion of FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. At least $1 billion in customer funds had vanished, the people said. Bankman-Fried told Reuters in November the company did not "secretly transfer" but rather misread its "confusing internal labeling." Bankman-Fried said he was speaking from the Bahamas and that the interview was against the advice of his lawyers.

☆ As Coinbase shares slide, Morgan Stanley lists major firms with potential FTX exposure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Strategists at Morgan Stanley on Nov. 17 compiled a list of 63 institutions that may be exposed to losses or have their capital stuck on FTX's platform. The below table shows 19 of the companies identified by Morgan Stanley as having significant exposure to FTX. Of the 19 companies listed, 15 have confirmed some exposure to FTX (although figures may differ from Morgan Stanley's estimates). Temasek, the Singaporean state-owned holding company, said it had invested more than $200 million in FTX and FTX's U.S. subsidiary. Morgan Stanley also named Ledn, BlockFi, Amber Group, Skybridge Capital and Selini Capital as among the funds with potential exposure to FTX, but where values had not been disclosed.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried wanted to let retail investors borrow money to trade crypto derivatives: CFTC head
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

He also wanted to offer the contracts directly to users, without having to go through a futures commission merchant. Prior to its bankruptcy filing last week, FTX had a registered derivatives platform with the CFTC called FTX US Derivatives. FTX US Derivatives is one of the few FTX-related properties that's not a part of its bankruptcy proceedings and remains operational today. And Zach Dexter, who was CEO of FTX US Derivatives, says on his LinkedIn profile that he's CEO at LedgerX. Since then, LedgerX has reportedly withdrawn its application for leveraged derivatives trading.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried admits FTX got 'overconfident and careless' ahead of collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO and Founder of FTX, walks near the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., September 15, 2022. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said on Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange got "overconfident" and "careless" as it grew into a $32 billion juggernaut. His comments come days after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of a catastrophic week. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried said "problems were brewing" that were "larger than [he] realized." The FTX founder said the company's assets were "fine" two days before he was desperate for a rescue because of a liquidity crunch.

☆ FTX collapse being scrutinized by Bahamas authorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Jasper Ward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloNASSAU, Bahamas, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX is the subject of scrutiny from government investigators in the Bahamas, who are looking at whether any "criminal misconduct occurred," the Royal Bahamas Police said on Sunday. Bankman-Fried had transferred $10 billion of customer funds to his trading company, Alameda Research, the sources said. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen said on Saturday it saw $659 million in outflows from FTX International and FTX U.S. in the preceding 24 hours. In its bankruptcy petition, FTX Trading said it has $10 billion to $50 billion in assets, $10 billion to $50 billion in liabilities, and more than 100,000 creditors.

The firm's founder Sam Bankman-Fried had transferred $10 billion of customer funds to his trading company, Alameda Research, the sources said. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen said it saw $659 million in outflows from FTX International and FTX U.S. in the last 24 hours. In January, FTX had raised $400 million from investors at a $32 billion valuation. "Over four years, FTX raised $1.8 billion from venture capital and pension funds. In its bankruptcy petition, FTX Trading said it has $10 billion to $50 billion in assets, $10 billion to $50 billion in liabilities, and more than 100,000 creditors.

It culminated on Wednesday, with Binance pulling out of its deal and throwing FTX's future into uncertainty. Bankman-Fried told Reuters on Tuesday that "I'll probably be too swamped" to do interviews. Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection the following month, with FTX's U.S. arm paying $1.4 billion for its assets in a September auction. Daily withdrawals normally totaled tens of millions of dollars, Bankman-Fried told his employees. Bankman-Fried signed a non-binding letter of intent for Binance to buy FTX’s non-U.S. assets.

☆ Rise and fall of crypto exchange FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange FTX stood on the brink of failure on Thursday after a bailout from larger rival Binance collapsed. September - FTX signed a sponsorship deal with Mercedes' Formula 1 team. June 4 - FTX signed a reportedly $135 million sponsorship deal for naming rights of the Miami Heat's home court. July 1 - FTX signed a deal with an option to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for up to $240 million. Aug. 19 - A U.S. bank regulator ordered crypto exchange FTX to halt "false and misleading" claims it had made about whether funds at the company are insured by the government.

☆ FTX's U.S. website says trading 'may be halted' in a few days but withdrawals still available
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

FTX's U.S. website says trading "may be halted" in a few days after the parent company spiraled towards collapse this week from a liquidity crisis. "Please close down any positions you want to close down," FTX U.S. said in an announcement on its site on Thursday. "Withdrawals are and will remain open. FTX U.S. says it is a U.S.-regulated exchange. The unit is a very small piece of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, which has spent the week seeking a bailout as customer withdrawal demands mounted.

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